


What If

by GreyHowler



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Wolf's Rain
Genre: Big Reveal, Blaise being a joker, Comedy, Family, Friendship, Harry is a Wolf, Humor, Kiba and Harry silently watching and laughing most of the time, Kiba being OOC because I can't figure him out, Mild Language, No Slash, No pairings as of yet, Toboe being the peacemaker, Tsume and Hige bickering, crossposted on ff.net, no Harry/Draco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-05-13 12:31:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 92,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14748930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyHowler/pseuds/GreyHowler
Summary: What if Harry Potter was not born to Lily and James Potter? What if he was a wolf? Not just any wolf, but one who could take on the form of a human? What if, when Kiba's pack went into Zali's Paradise tunnel, they found another world at the end? What if they found a wolf cub on someone's doorstep in the middle of the night and decided to keep him?Same What If WR/HP crossover as on FF.netWill contain some blood/gore though not extensivelyHarry gets a name-changeHarry is in SlytherinHarry is friends with Draco Malfoy (although they are not "evil")No slash. No Harry/Draco. No pairings as of yetUpdates monthly on or around the 15th





	1. The Graveyard

Snow fell lightly in the magical town of Godric’s Hollow on a chilly October night in 1979. It was a rather small town, so small in fact that there were hardly any people outside of their homes, even though it was only eight o’clock at night. It was one of those towns where nearly everyone knew each other and it had a country feel to it without missing any of the necessary stores. This was why James and Lily Potter decided to move there. 

The house in which the couple lived was near the edge of Godric’s Hollow. It was not a large house, nor a small one. It had two stories with a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, and a bathroom for each on the second floor. There was a kitchen and dining room, a living room, and a study on the first floor. It was just big enough to comfortably hold a family of three, although only two inhabited the house.

A man and a woman were huddled together on a couch in the living room of this house, reading together from a book as the snow silently fell outside the large window behind them. Their names were James and Lily Potter. James Potter was rather handsome with scraggly black hair and blue eyes. He wore large, round glasses that rested easily on his nose and there were traces of smile wrinkles around the edges of his eyes. His tenor voice range clear and strong throughout the living room as he read through each chapter. Lily’s beauty matched her husband's perfectly to create the perfect couple. Her long brown hair fell gently down her back and shoulders as her green eyes peered eagerly over James’s shoulder at the book. Every once in awhile, she would shift her gentle gaze and features to stare at her husband’s face lovingly before turning back to the book.

They were what some would consider to be recently married (they had just celebrated their two year anniversary) and had just moved into their new home. All of their belongings had been unpacked, but the house still had an air of James had just finished a chapter when Lily spoke.

“James, I’m getting stiff. Why don’t we take a walk outside for a bit?”

James looks out the dark window. “Right now? It’s pretty late,” he replied.

Lily giggled. “That’s the best time to take a walk. Haven’t you ever stood outside and stared at the stars? It’s magical.”

James grinned cheekily back at her. “Honey, we are magical.”

Lily scowled at him. “You know what I mean.” She stood up and started pulling at her husband’s arm. “Come on. Get your jacket on. We’re going for a walk.”  
James sighed and slowly got up. 

Together, they opened the hallway closet and slipped into their jackets. They picked up their wands from the table next to the front door and headed out.

“Lumos,” said James, but Lily protested.

“You won’t be able to see the snow if you do that,” she scolded.

“We won’t be able to see where we’re walking if I don’t.”

“Yes, we will. Our eyes will adjust.”

James sighed and canceled the spell and they continued walking down the street in the direction of the community graveyard. The street was dark and quiet, only lit by the occasional light from a nearby house. Lily maintained a constant upward glance, staring at the twinkling stars as James led her down the sidewalk.

They reached the graveyard and James said, “Haven’t we gone far enough yet? It’s getting very late.”

Lily sighed at him as if he were a little kid on a road trip asking “Are we there yet?” every five minutes. But she relented as she was becoming tired as well. As they began to turn, however, Lily heard a soft whimpering coming from the dark graveyard. She gripped James’s sleeve tightly. It is not uncommon to see ghosts in magical towns such as theirs and most of them were friendly, but this didn’t sound like a ghost to Lily. Plus, they had heard some of Voldemort’s Death Eaters had been spotted nearby.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“Hear what?” James replied.

“That sound. Coming from over there.”

“You’re just imagining things.”

“No, I’m not. Listen. There it is again.”

“Maybe we should head back home.”

“Wait, James. It sounds like a puppy.”

She let go of James’s arm and started walking toward where she thought the whimpering was coming from.

“Lily, wait. That’s not a very good idea. It could be one of Voldemort’s traps,” James called after her.

Lily ignored him and continued walking. James finally gave up trying to persuade her to come back and followed after her, wand out and at the ready. Lily stopped in the middle of the yard and looked around.

“I could have sworn it came from around here,” she mused.

“Lily, honey, let’s go back. Whatever was here before is gone now,” James pleaded with her.

Lily looked around her one last time before heading back toward James. The noise came again. This time it sounded like a baby’s coo, very near to where she is standing. Lily turned back around and marched around the back of one tombstone. She kneeled down to get a closer look at the thing making the sound. As she stood back up, she was holding something very tenderly in her arms.

“James, look. It’s a baby!”

James rushed over to her and stared at the bundle of blue blankets in her arms. Sure enough, wrapped in several layers lay a baby boy, about two or three months old. He had snow-white skin, black hair and startlingly blue eyes. If he had been awake when Lily had heard him whimpering, he showed no sign of being so, for he was sound asleep in Lily’s arms now.

“I don’t like this, Lily. Why would someone just leave their baby here like this?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they were in trouble.”

The bundle in Lily’s arms shifted a bit and one blanket fell over the baby’s face. Lily pulled it back so that it would not inhibit his breathing. . . and nearly dropped the baby. She stifled a scream as she whispered hoarsely to James, who had begun scouting the area for enemies or traps.

“James! James!”

James rushed back through the ankle-deep snow back to Lily and the baby.

“What is it?! What’s wrong?!

Lily silently held out the blanket for him to see, hands shaking. Where the normal, human baby boy had been just seconds before, lay a sleeping, jet-black wolf cub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi , everybody! I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it. This chapter's a little short, but I wanted to end it on the "dun-dun-duuu" moment. 
> 
> Just to let you know, this is the same story as on FF.net. I just posted it over here so it would get more views. Since I've gotten so far with the chapters over there, I'm just going to dump them all on here right now so you don't miss out on anything. 
> 
> Updates after today will be rather sporadic, but there will usually be at least one update per month. However, I been accepted for a summer internship in a different city. I will be living with my grandparents, who barely know how to change the channel on the TV, so the only internet I'll have is at McDonalds or the University or something. I have no idea how many hours I'll be working, so I might not have a whole lot of time to even write, let alone post. It's only until around August, though. 
> 
> There will be things in this story that need explaining, but I don't think you will get the explanation until you read the part that warrants the explanation, so I'll just explain when we get there. Otherwise, I'll try to keep quiet so you'll know when you really need to read the AN.
> 
> First explanation: the reason why Harry was abandoned in the graveyard in the middle of winter will be explained through the storyline. Eventually. 
> 
> I'll also be posting my Who Am I story on here eventually (it's kinda like this one except James and Lily are alive), so look out for that one if you want to. 
> 
> Don't forget to review! Thanks for reading!
> 
> -GH
> 
> PS: I originally wrote the parts with James and Lily in present tense, but decided to change it to past. Let me know if you see any of those mistakes left and I'll fix them. I'm pretty sure I got them all, but I've been wrong before.


	2. The Baby

“What is it?” whispered Lily.

James stared blankly at the cub.

“I don’t know. It’s not a werewolf. At least, not one that I’ve ever seen,” he said, puzzled. He glanced around them again as Lily stared fixedly at the bundle in her arms.

“What should we do?” asked Lily.

James sighed. “I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be any malicious intent anywhere near, but I still don’t like this. Maybe we should take it back home. We can decide what to do there.”

Lily nodded vacantly, still staring at the cub. James grabbed her arm and led his dumbfounded wife away from the graves. They moved back down the street in the direction of their house at a slightly faster pace than they had been when they first came. They reached their home before long and James ushered his wife inside. He took off his coat and hung it back in the hall closet, then turned to Lily. She was still staring down at the bundle in her arms. He lightly touched her arm and she looked up at him. But her face is not filled with fear as he expected it to be; instead, it seemed she was pleading with him.

“Please, James. Can we keep him?” she asked quietly.

James was dumbfounded. She had been terrified of it when she had seen it change forms, but now she wanted to keep it without knowing exactly what it was. What had happened in the few minutes it had taken them to get home to change her mind so drastically?

“Lily, I think we should think about this first. What if it’s some Dark Creature? It might turn on us once it gets older. Even if it isn’t a Dark Creature, which seems highly unlikely, even a regular wild animal would eventually turn on its keepers eventually.”

“But he won’t be wild, James. He won’t grow up knowing anything about the wild. We’ll raise him to be a normal boy.”

“But what if he can’t be normal? What are we going to do then?” he nearly shouted, pointing at the bundle in her arms, which had turned back into a human boy.

“A Blood Adoption will suppress those characteristics!” she shouted back.

“What’s a Blood Adoption?” asked James confusedly after a pause. 

Lily sighed. “A Blood Adoption Ceremony allows someone to adopt a child into their blood family. The child will take on characteristics of the parent.”

“Just characteristics?”

“Yes. So there is still a chance he will retain this transformation ability, but he should lose those animalistic qualities. He will essentially become our son.”

James considered this for a few seconds. “And you know this for sure?”

“No. No one has ever performed a Blood Adoption on anything other than a muggle or another wizard.”

James sighed, enveloping his face in his hands. He looks back up after about a minute. “So this may not work--” Lily nodded. “--but you still want to do this?” Lily nodded again.

“I know I’ve just met him, James, but I love him. And he’s still at least somewhat human. We can’t in good consciousness leave him out there.”

James opened his mouth.

“Or let someone else deal with him. He was most likely abandoned because of his strangeness. We are probably some the of the most capable wizards in England. I don’t want some other family to have to deal with this.”

James shut his mouth and sighed again. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you absolutely, positively sure you want to do this? We might be able to get Dumbledore—“

“No! I don’t want anyone else to know about this! Once we perform the Blood Adoption, he will be ours.”

“How are we going to explain this then?”

“We’ve been married for two years already and, although we haven’t tried, I haven’t gotten pregnant. Just tell them that we gave up and adopted a baby.”

“They won’t become suspicious if he ends up look exactly like one of us?”

“Tell them that we performed the Blood Adoption.”

James sighs again and looks at his wife. “If you’re sure about this.”

“I am, James. I want him to be my son.”

“Alright. But if something happens, he’s out of here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Lily giggled. “Nothing will happen, James. We’ll raise him to be a good boy. And if something does happen, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I was top of my classes, remember.”

“Yes, I remember. Okay. What do we need to do for this ceremony?”

“All we need to do is take a couple of drops of blood from each of us and recite a spell.”

James laughed awkwardly. “Sounds like a cult.”

“Well, that’s how cults started. Some muggles secretly watched a wizard family perform a Blood Adoption Ceremony and decided that if they altered it a bit, they would become powerful. Like wizards and witches.”

“Uh-huh. Well, when can we do this?”

“I have to go to the library to find the book that has the spell in it, so we can do it sometime tomorrow.”

James grinned. “So the book-worm never learned that spell. Tsk-tsk, Lily. I expected better of you.”

Lily scowled at him. “Well, I never thought that I would have to use it.”

James yawned. “So what are we going to do with him tonight?”

Lily contemplated this. “We could put him in the guest bedroom, but we’d have to conjure him a crib.”

James stared at the baby in her arms, which had turned back into a wolf, but was awake and yipping softly at them. “I sure hope this works, Lily. We’ll have a lot to explain if it doesn’t.”

“It will, James. Stop worrying. Now go conjure me a crib while I see if I can find anything for him to eat.”

James nodded and headed up the stairs and Lily walked into the kitchen. She shifted the cub to one arm so she could hold him with one arm and open the fridge with the other. She peered into the fridge for a moment before speaking softly.

“Well, dear, I never thought we would have a baby without any notice, but it’s a good thing I like to cook with goat’s milk,” she said and pulled out a small glass bottle of the white liquid. She set the bottle on the island in the middle of the kitchen and reached into one of the cupboards. Since it had stayed in his wolf form, so she decided to try feeding it with the bowl first. She poured a bit of milk into the bowl and placed it in the microwave for a few seconds. Once the milk was warmed and back on the island, she unwrapped the baby. 

His wolf fur shimmered in the light as he crawled out of the blankets and over to the bowl. He sniffed at the bowl for a moment before hesitantly tasting it, then hungrily lapping at it. Lily tentatively reached out to pet the cub. Her hand rested lightly on his head, but he gave no indication that he noticed her. She began to stroke him, starting between his ears and moving slowly down his back. They continued like this for a few minutes, then Lily pulled back her hand and rested her head on her hands on the island.

“What are you?” she whispered softly. The cub stopped drinking and whined at her. She lifted her head to see that the bowl was empty. She reached for the milk bottle and started to pour some more into the bowl, but the cub jumped at her hand, eager for more milk. Startled, she let out a small scream and the bottle crashes to the island.

“LILY?! WHAT’S WRONG?! WHAT HAPPENED?!” yelled James as he thundered down the stairs. He ran to the kitchen and his shoes screeched on the tile as he came to a halt and surveyed the kitchen. Lily, the cub, the island, and the floor were covered in milk. Lily began to giggle, which turned into a full belly-laugh. James walked toward her with his arms outstretched.

“What happened?” he asked as Lily leaned forward into his arms, still laughing.

“I’m sorry, James. He jumped at the milk bottle and I spilled it everywhere,” she said.

They both looked over to the cub who was trying frantically to lick up the spilled milk. Lily’s laugh gradually slowed until she only let out a few giggles every now and then. She let go of James and stepped away from him.

“Did you get the crib set up?” she asked him.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he replied, still staring at the cub.

Lily heaved a great sigh to relieve herself of the rest of her giggles. “Well, then. Would you rather put him to bed or clean up this mess?”

“I guess I’ll clean up. I don’t know anything about babies. Or wolf cubs,” he replied.

Lily put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. “And I do?”

“Well, you’re the one that wants to become a mother, so you’re more likely to have read about what to do. At least, with the human part.”

Lily laughed again. “You’re right,” she says. “I suppose I do know a little about this.”

She picked up the cub, who had finished licking the island and was yawning widely, and walked out of the room as James pulled out his wand.

“Well,” she said to the writhing cub, “I guess we better have a shower before bed.”

She walked up the stairs and into the master bathroom. She set the cub down and he started to crawl around on the floor, exploring his surroundings, as Lily undressed. Her top fell to the floor on top of the cub and he yelped at the sudden weight. Lily giggled and picked up the clothing, placing it in the laundry bin. The cub stood up, shook himself, and continued exploring.

Lily finished undressing and picked up the cub. She walked over to the shower and turned on the hot water. She ran it for a few minutes to make sure the temperature was perfect before stepping into the shower. She set the cub down on the tile and closed the shower door. The pup sat down, confused by the warm water falling on him. Lily reached over to one of the shelves and grabbed the soap bottle. She squirted some into her hand and rubbed the soap into the pup’s fur. He stayed surprisingly still as she scrubbed him. Only when she had finished with him and began washing herself did he get up and start slipping around the shower.

The shower was built with a slight incline leading toward the drain and the combination of soap and water caused the cub to fall and slide comically down to the drain. He whimpered and stood up again, trying to shake the water from his fur. Lily quickly finished washing the milk from her hair and turned off the shower. She stepped out, leaving the door open, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around herself. Then, she turned to watch the cub.

He tried to follow Lily out of the shower, but the step was just a little bit too high and he tumbled over himself to the floor. He stood up and shook himself, spraying water all over the floor. Smiling, Lily grabbed another towel and rubbed the pup dry, then wrapped him in the towel and carried him to the guest bedroom. 

Their guestroom had a queen-size bed, a dresser, a chair and a small closet. Lily had been proud of the arrangement of this room, but now it would have to be turned into a nursery. She was a little miffed that she had put so many hours into this room’s arrangement and it had not been used once, but she knew she would enjoy building the perfect playroom for her new baby. James had begun the transformation by conjuring a crib next to the bed. 

She set the cub in the crib, then stripped the bed of its blankets and folded them around him. He watched her as she gathered the blankets then sat down abruptly under their heavy weight as she draped them around him. She smiled and debated with herself about whether she should wait for him to fall asleep. As much as she wanted to watch his heavy lids fall slowly over his great blue eyes, she knew that her presence would arouse his curiosity about what she was doing and he would not want to go to sleep.   
So she slowly backed out of the room and closed the door. She waited there for a moment, listening for movement. When she didn’t hear anything, she moved farther down the hallway to the master bedroom. The master bedroom was furnished much the same as the guest room, including a king-size bed and a vanity for Lily. A door next to the bed led to a large walk-in closet and another door across from the bed opened to a large bathroom. 

James was laying in their bed, but he sits up as she enters.

“Well?” he asked.

Lily shrugged. 

“He did fine in the shower,” she replied. “I just put him in the crib. I’ll check on him once I get dressed.” 

She moved to the dresser and pulled out a night shirt. Once she had her bed clothes on, she used the towel to rub her long hair dry. She sat at her vanity and started brushing the tangles out of it. James was still on the bed, propped on his elbow.

“Are you still sure you want to do this?” he asked.

Lily gave him a look in the mirror. James sighed. “All right, but you’d better find out what he is first.”

Lily nodded and finished brushing her hair. Then she stood up again and started the leave the room, but she paused at the doorway.

“Want to come with me?” she asked James with a tantalizing smile.

James sighed and got off the bed. Together they walked down the hallway to the guest bedroom. Lily slowly and quietly opened the door. She stuck her head in and then opened the door a bit wider so that James could see. James peeked through the crack at the crib directly in front of them. In the pale light from the hallway, he could see the cub sleeping soundly, cuddled in his blankets. Lily leaned against him, looking through the doorway with him.

“We’ll make this work, James. Don’t worry,” she reassured him.

James sighed. “If you say so.”  
Lily smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “I do say so.”


	3. Becoming a Family

"WHAAAAAHHHHHOOOO!"

Lily moaned and rolled to her other side in their bed, toward James. She didn't want to get up yet. It was Saturday, so why had James set the alarm?

"AAAAHHHHOOOOOOOO!"

"James, turn that off," said Lily.

"I thought it was yours," mumbled James.

Lily sat up groggily. "Then what is it?"

James was still half-asleep and didn't answer her.

"WHAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Lily's eyes widened as she finally woke all the way up and remembered the previous night's events.

"Oh, my gosh! I forgot about the baby," she said and leaped out of bed, startling James.

"Who? What? What happened?" he asked, shooting to a sitting position.

"The baby, James! We forgot about the baby!" shouted Lily at him as she ran out the door.

"Oh, right. The baby," said James, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Lily sprinted down the short hallway to the guest bedroom and opened the door. Inside, the creature they had picked up the previous night was crying his head off in the crib. He was  
switching so quickly from his human form to his wolf form that his screams formed a combination of a baby's cry and a wolf's howl. Distantly, Lily noticed that when the baby was in human form, he wore a light blue onesie, but when he switched to wolf form, the onesie disappeared.

Lily smiled, walked over to him and picked him up.

"Shhh. There, there, little one. It's all right," she crooned, rocking him in her arms. She walked out of the room and down the stairs to get him some more milk, talking softly to him. The baby stopped crying in her embrace and his body-switching began to slow down until he finally maintained his human form.

Lily reached the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out another bottle of goat's milk. She realized that, because the baby was in human form, it probably wouldn't drink from a bowl. So, she reached for her wand which had been left on the island from the night before and conjured him a baby bottle. She poured the milk into the bottle and placed it in the microwave. She bounced the baby, who was still sniffling a bit, on her hip while she waited. The microwave timer went off and she tilted the bottle into the baby's mouth. He grasped it and started sucking hungrily at it, staring at Lily all the while.

James walked down the stairs, wrapped in his bathrobe, and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, arms folded, watching his wife and the baby. Lily looked up and smiled at him. James smiled back.

"We're a family, now," said Lily.

James laughed nervously.

"Not quite," he said.

Lily gave him "the look" and he threw up his hands in defeat.

"I simply meant that we haven't performed this ceremony yet."

Lily walked back upstairs, still holding the baby. James followed a few steps behind her.

"We've got a lot to do today. I need to go to the library and I don't think it'll be a good idea to take him with me, so you'll have to babysit for a while," she said.

James groaned, but Lily ignored him and continued, "I won't take long and then we can go out and get him some more clothes and some proper food."

Lily reached their bedroom and began to open her dresser drawers and pull out some clothes. Once she had everything she wanted out, she walked over to where James was sitting on the  
bed and held out the baby to him. James took him awkwardly.

"Here, hold him like this. Make sure to support his head," says Lily as she adjusted his hands.

"Uh-huh," says James, struggling with the baby who is still sucking on the bottle although more slowly. Once James got the baby settled in his arms, Lily walked to the bathroom to get dressed.

"Hey, is he supposed to stare at me like this?" called James worriedly.

Lily's laugh floated through the door, "That means he likes you." They were silent for a few moments as James stared at the baby and Lily combed her hair.

"You know, we have to come up with a name for him. We can't keep calling him 'the baby'," she said.

"Have any suggestions?" asked James.

"Hmmm. I had a grandfather named Gerald."

James looked up, surprised. "What? No. Too old fashioned."

Lily laughed. "Okay, what do you suggest?"

"Well, my grandfather's name was Wesley. My other grandfather's name was Phillip and my dad's name was Harry."

"How about Harry, then. I like that name."

"Okay. Harry it is then." (1)  
Lily walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and placed her hands on her hips and sighed.

"All right, James. I'm going out now. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said as she walked out of the room and down the stairs. James floundered after her with the baby.

"What am I supposed to do if he starts crying? What if he has an 'accident'? What if—"

"You'll do fine. If he starts crying, check his diaper and if that's clean, give him some more milk. He could also need to be burped. He might need a nap, try that one last," she says, grabbing her purse and keys from the entry table. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe I'll get you a baby book too."

And just like that, she was out the door. Harry pulled the bottle from his mouth with a pop and burped.

"Oh, boy," said James.  
________________________________________

"Let's see. Where did I see that book? Hmmm. Ah! There it is," says Lily as she pulled a book from one of the library shelves. She flipped through it quickly and found the Blood Adoption  
Ceremony. She closed the book with a snap.

"Okay, that's one book down. Now let's find one about magical creatures." Lily scanned the shelves for her favorite book of magical creatures, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She ended up having to ask the librarian where it was, but she finally got her hands on it and set it down on one of the reading tables.

"Let's see. I suppose I'll start with werewolves," she mused and flipped through the book to the entry on werewolves. (2)

It read something like this, "Werewolves are dangerous creatures that should be handled with care. Although the werewolf in human form may turn out to be a kindly old man, he becomes  
rabid beasts under a full moon. Some werewolves are able to transform at will, regardless of the moon. Wizards are turned into werewolves when they are bitten by a werewolf. It is not known how the first werewolf came to be, but it is speculated to have been a self-transfiguration spell gone wrong."

Lily shifted her gaze to the footnote at the bottom. The words were so tiny it was a miracle she saw it at all. She used a magnification spell and read the paragraph.

"Finius Picklbrook once speculated that some muggle wolves were able to glamour themselves into human form, but this theory is widely ostracized as the ravings of a madman. Picklbrook was admitted to St Mungo's Hospital and diagnosed with severe paranoia two years after proposing this hypothesis."

Lily flipped through the book some more but saw no more entries that hinted at what creature Harry might have been. She closed the book, returned it to its place, and continued her search through at least six more magical-beast books, but found nothing.

'I hope James will still go through with the adoption,' she thought as she began to look for a book about baby care.  
________________________________________

"James! I'm home!" called Lily as she closed the front door behind her and put her bag on the entry table. James came running out of the study.

"SHHHH!" he said, dramatically putting a finger to his lips. "I only just got him to go to sleep."

Lily giggled at him. "How did it go?"

James gave her a dull stare.

"Not good, huh? Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

James flopped onto the couch and sighed. He rubbed his face with his hands and said, "I don't know if I'm ready for this, Lily."

Lily kneeled down on the couch beside him and gave him a peck on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Don't I keep telling you that you'll do fine? You already got him to take a nap. That's the hardest thing to do at this age," she reassured him.

"I just don't want to do a shoddy job of it," he said.

"You won't."

"If you say so."

"I do say so. Now, I know you must have worked very hard to get him to sleep, but we still need to perform the blood adoption and go shopping," she said as she stood up. James groaned.

"Alright," he said. "I'll go get him." Lily smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you," she said. She walked into the kitchen, placed the ritual book on the island, and took out one of her mother's heirloom wine cups. She placed it on the island, then reached for one of her kitchen knives and sets it down next to the glass.

James walked into the kitchen, holding Harry. The baby was still a bit bleary eyed from sleep and was nodding off onto James's shoulder. James stared at the equipment on the island.

"Are you sure you're doing this right?" he asked.

"Yes, James. It's very easy. I just needed the words to the spell," she replied. Lily flipped through her book to find the lines she needed.

"Okay, James. Are you ready?" she asked him.

"I don't know. Depends on what I have to do," he replied.

"You don't have to do anything. I'll take care of it all."

"All right, then. Let's get started."

Lily picked up the knife and cup and began to speak in Latin.

"Supplices rogamus puer addee familia natum atque ipsum esse censemus." (3)

Lily lifted the knife to her finger and let a few drops of blood drip into the cup, then did the same to James and Harry. The baby began to scream at the pain and James attempted to quiet him while Lily finished. She swirled the blood around the cup to mix it.

"Haec oblate nobis sanguine venis et quo nos currere currat nostra." (4)

Lily waved her wand over the cup as she said this last line. When she finished speaking, she set down the cup and her wand and looked at Harry. James looked with her and, before their eyes, Harry's pale skin gained a pink tinge and his eyes changed to a deep green, just like Lily's. His hair, as well, turned a shade lighter to match James's.

"Okay. Now that that's finished, why don't we go shopping?" said Lily, clapping her hands together for emphasis. James looked at her.

"You mean that's it.? That's all we have to do?" he asked.

"That's all. Let's hurry and get to the store so that Harry can finish his nap."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: I couldn't find out how James and Lily chose 'Harry' for his name, so I just made it up.
> 
> 2: I don't own Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, so, again, I made this up. 
> 
> 3: Translation (via Google Translate): we humbly request to add this child to our family, that he may be our son and we his parents
> 
> 4: Translation: May this offered blood mix so that ours may run in his veins and his may run in ours


	4. The Decision

“James! They’ll be here any minute. Are you done yet?” shouted Lily from the kitchen where she was pulling a meatloaf out of the oven. James old school buddies were coming over for a Christmas party the Potter’s were hosting. It would be the first time their closest friends met Harry and both James and Lily were nervous about it.

“Almost, Lily!” he shouted back. 

James was in Harry’s bedroom, dressing him for the party. He had changed Harry’s clothes at least five times before giving up and deciding on a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers outfit. In the last two months, he had become much closer to his son and spoiled the boy as much as he could. 

He finished tying Harry’s shoes, picked him up, and threw him in the air. Harry laughed at the attention and James carried Harry down to the kitchen. Ever since the Blood Adoption, Harry had stopped transforming into a wolf, but his teeth were just a bit sharper than normal and if you parted his hair in just the right way, you could see smaller, fur-like hairs growing just above his scalp.

James set Harry in his baby chair at the table with a few toys and walked over to Lily, who was removing the meatloaf from its pan to cool. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

“James, you’re going to make me drop something,” she laughed.

“That’s ok. The floor’s clean. It’ll still taste great. You’re cooking always does,” he replied.

Lily didn’t get a chance to give him a retort for, at that moment, the door bell rang. James sighed.

“Here we go,” he said and walked to the front door.

Standing on the door mat were two scruffy men, one taller than the other. The tall man had black hair even more unruly than James’s and a healthy amount of muscle while the second man was rather skinny and had scraggly brown hair.

“James! Merry Christmas. It’s good to see you. Where have you been these past few months?” asked the tall man, reaching forward to shake James’s hand and they slapped each other on the back.

“Good to see you too, Sirius,” said James. He turned to the second, quieter man.

“Merry Christmas, Remus. How’s life treating you?” James asked.

“Better than some, worse than most,” replied Remus.

“Come on in, guys. Lily’s just finishing up in the kitchen,” said James, ushering them through the door. Only then does he notice the rather short, mousey man standing behind the first two.

“Ah! Peter, you made it. Welcome,” said James and closed the door behind the three.

“Nice to see you, James,” squeaked Peter.

The four of them walk into the living room just in time to meet Lily coming from the kitchen with Harry in her arms. “Hello, boys,” she said, reaching forward with her free arm to give each of them a hug.

Sirius stared at the baby in Lily’s arms.

“Well, who’s this?” he asked.

“This is Harry,” replied Lily, bouncing Harry on her hip. 

“Are you babysitting him or something?” asked Sirius, reaching forward with a finger to touch Harry. Harry grabbed on to it enthusiastically and held the finger tightly in his tiny grip.

“No, he’s our son.”

“Oh. Wait, what?” Sirius looked up in surprise, jerking his finger out of Harry’s grip. Harry began to gurgle, upset that his new toy had been taken from him. 

“He’s our son, Sirius,” says Lily, laughing, and reaching to brush Harry’s cheek to keep him from crying.

“Oh, wow. Oh my gosh, James. You have a kid,” and Sirius hugged Lily lightly again before turning to slap James on the back several more times. Remus repeated the sentiment, although less wildly; he shook James’s hand and hugged Lily. Peter just stared silently at the group.

“Can I hold him, Lily?” asked Sirius and Lily gently handed Harry to him. Sirius cradled the baby, who smiled up at him.

“He has James’s hair and Lily’s eyes and smile,” said Sirius and began tickling and blowing raspberries at Harry.

“How old is he?” asked Remus.

“He’s five months,” replied Lily. One of the less-popular spells which Lily had had the pleasure of learning on her own in Hogwarts was one which revealed the birth date of any person. 

Remus looked puzzled. “But how—“

“I was unable to get pregnant, so we adopted him and performed a Blood Adoption,” interrupted Lily nervously.

“Oh.”

“James, your kid is too cute,” said Sirius. “Here, Remus. Want to hold him?”

Remus took Harry, who was still laughing, and cradled him in his arms for a moment, then handed him back to Lily.

“Would you like to hold him, Peter?” she asked. He had faded into the background of the merry party and Lily had nearly forgotten about him.

“No, thank you, Miss Lily,” he replied quietly.

“Well, then. How about we get started on dinner?” said Lily and walked into the dining room. Sirius glanced at the magnificent spread Lily has made for them and his mouth watered.

“Lily, you didn’t have to do all this for us,” said Remus.

“Yes, I did. You’re our dear friends whom we haven’t seen for months,” replied Lily, setting Harry in his high chair. Everyone took their seats at the table and they began to eat, conversing about school and recent events. Soon they were finished with dinner and had moved back to the living room.

“Lily, you’ve outdone yourself tonight,” said Sirius.

“Thank you,” replied Lily, bouncing Harry on her knee. The group continued conversing and laughing together, but soon Lily excused herself to put Harry to bed. She walked up the stairs, rocking the sleepy baby and singing softly to him. She walked into the guest room that they had transformed into a baby room and changed him into a onesie. She spent a few extra minutes alone with him before she laid him down in his crib. She started rocking the crib, still singing. She pulled his blankets up to his chin and kissed his forehead. Lily softly closed the door and walked back down the stairs.

In the living room, she noticed that there was an extra person in the room.

“Hello, Professor Dumbledore. I wasn’t expecting you to be here tonight,” remarked Lily.

“Neither was I, Mrs. Potter, but something urgent has come up,” replied Dumbledore.  
James stood up and took his wife’s hand, leading her back to the couch.

“Lily,” he said, “there has been a prophecy.”

“Oh. What about?”

“According to the prophecy, a child born from a Light family at the end of July will defeat Voldemort,” explained Dumbledore. “I had originally come here to discuss the protection of Neville Longbottom, who I believed to be the only child born in July. However, James has just informed me of young Harry.”

Lily sucked in a breath. “But Harry wasn’t born to us. We adopted him,” she argued.

“We don’t want to take any chances, Lily,” said Dumbledore.

“And Voldemort won’t know that he isn’t your child unless you go straight up to him or a Death Eater and tell them,” said Sirius.

“Then print it in the newspaper! Tell him that Harry has nothing to do with this prophecy!”

“I don’t want to do that, Lily,” says James. “The best way to keep you and Harry safe is to keep him a secret. And they probably won’t believe us anyway. They’d just think we were making excuses.”

“But what if he finds out, James?! What if he finds out we have a child, but he doesn’t know that he isn’t our legitimate son?!” Lily was shouting now, beginning to rise from her seat.

“Shhh, Flower,” said James, using his pet name for her. “You’ll wake Harry.” He pulled her back down to the couch and started rubbing her back. Lily placed her head in her hands and started sobbing.

“What are we going to do, James. I want to keep him safe,” she said.

“We will. Don’t worry,” he replied and glanced up at Dumbledore.

“I have a solution that may help with that,” said Dumbledore.

Lily looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “You do? What is it?”

“We need someone to be a Secret Keeper. If we keep the people who know about Harry to a minimum and your location a secret, the chances of Voldemort finding you are very slim.”

“Ok,” said James. “Who do you suggest to be the Secret Keeper?”

“Perhaps Sirius,” replied Dumbledore. “He is the least likely to give it up.”

“No,” said Lily. “Have Peter do it. He’s very good at blending in.”

“You have a point, my dear,” said Dumbledore gently, “but if Voldemort catches him, I fear he will not last long under the Cruciatus Curse.”

“I agree with Lily,” said Sirius. “Peter should be the Secret Keeper. Hardly anyone notices him and those that do will not know that he knows the Potters.”

“I think so too,” said Remus.

Lily looked over at Peter. “We all want you to do it, but the final decision is up to you, Peter. Will you do it? Will you help keep my family safe?”

Peter fidgeted uneasily for a bit then answered, “Yes. I will become your Secret Keeper.”

“Very well,” said Dumbledore. “Peter will become your Secret Keeper.”


	5. The Tragedy

“Lily! Run! He’s here!! Take Harry and run!! I’ll hold him off!” shouted James.

“But James—“ cried Lily.

“Just do it!! Get Harry!” interrupted James. Lily ran up the stairs to the baby room, but the front door is blasted off its hinges before she made it to the landing.

“Avada Kedavra!” shouted a new voice. James, not ready for the speed of the attack, fell easily to the killing curse.

Lily screamed his name but knew she had to get Harry and get out if either one of them were to survive. She ran up the rest of the stairs and darted to the baby room. Harry was awake and starting to blubber, but Lily spoke softly to soothe him. She walked quietly to his crib and started to pick him up, but a noise from the doorway caused her to turn swiftly around.

In the doorway, just a few feet away from her, stood Voldemort, the most feared and powerful wizard in existence. Lily knew she and Harry could not run now, so she began to plead with him, explaining that Harry was not her legitimate child and therefore not part of the prophecy.

The Dark wizard ignored her though and continued walking through the door.

“Out of the way!” he growled, but Lily set her feet even firmer.

“Please, don’t!” she begs.

He shoved Lily roughly to the floor and pointed his wand at the now-wailing baby.

“Avada Kedavra!” he shouted and a red streak of light shot toward Harry, but Lily had managed to get to her feet in time to throw herself in between the spell and her baby. Lily dropped to the floor, eyes open and dull. Voldemort stepped over her body and aimed his wand at Harry again.

“Avada Kedavra!”

____________________________________________________________________________

The next day, a tabby cat sat on the garden wall of #4 Privet Drive. If one had taken the time to watch it, he would notice that the cat hardly moved during the whole day. Only the occasional twitch of its tail or a blink of its eyes proved that it was still alive. Vernon Dursley had noticed the cat on his way to work and he had thought it had been reading a map. Being a person who hated anything unusual, he had tried fervently to shoo it away. When the cat only glared at him, he began the attempt to forget about it. He was in a particularly good mood because his son, Dudley, had just learned a new word, “Won’t,” but he believed that the moment he noticed the cat was when his day started to get worse. 

Vernon was perfectly willing to let the cat incident slide--that was how good his mood was that morning--but on his way to work, he began to see owls flying overhead. Owls. All the books he had read said that owls were nocturnal, and he was certain that the birds would never be seen in such a loud and busy place as a town, even one as small as Little Whinging. To make matters worse, there were a great many robed people standing about in small groups, talking excitedly and making many gestures. He fervently hoped that these people were just playing around in costumes rather than what he feared they were. 

He had successfully forgotten about the cat by lunchtime, although the owls constantly flying overhead were hard to ignore. The robed people had almost slipped his mind too, but two of them just so happened to be standing very near where Vernon was about to order his lunch at a cafe just outside his office building. He tried very hard to ignore them, which was rather hard to do since they were only standing about five feet away from him. His curiosity got the better of him and he listened to a few snippets of their conversation. 

“The Potters, that’s what I heard.”

“Oh, yes, their son Harry--”

Potter. Wasn’t that the name of Petunia’s sister? And didn’t they just get a letter claiming they had a new brat? What was his name? Vernon couldn’t remember. It started with an H, but he couldn’t be sure it was Harry. Vernon went back to his office very irritated and spent the rest of the afternoon snapping at his poor secretary for making one mistake or another. 

He tried to act normal when he got home that evening and listened half-heartedly to his wife prattle on about the new gossip about the neighbors as she wrestled Dudley into his high chair. When she finally stopped for air, Vernon asked tentatively, “Say, Petunia, what was your sister’s name?”

Petunia turned up her long nose. “Why would you want to know about her?”

Vernon was nervous now. Petunia hated talking about her sister and the people she associated herself with. “Oh, I was just wondering. The topic came up at work today and I couldn’t remember.”

“Hmph,” said Petunia. “Potter. Lily Potter.”

“Ah, yes,” said Vernon, feeling his heart sink. “And didn’t they have a child too? Do you know what his name is?”

“Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.”

“Mmmm,” said Vernon, turning on the television as his wife continued to struggle with the baby.

“And now we go to Tom for the weather. Tom?” said the newsman.

“Thanks, Jeff,” said Tom. “Looks pretty nice tonight. Low of sixty and cloudy with a chance of owls…”

If Vernon had been a lady, he was sure he would have started crying. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Late that night, the tabby cat shifted its weight. It had still not moved although its gaze had moved from staring at the houses to staring at the end of the street as if it were waiting for someone or something to appear. Another hour and a half went by before anything happened. All of a sudden, a great crack echoed through the night. It wasn’t loud enough to wake anyone, but it would have turned the head of anyone who had been awake.

An old man with a long, white beard, who had not been there five minutes earlier, stood in the middle of the street. He wore a long robe, a tall pointed hat, and old fashioned shoes with buckles. He stood there for a few seconds before he reached into his robe and pulled out what looked like a lighter. He clicked the lighter once . . . and one of the street lamps went out. He clicked the lighter again and another one went out. He clicked several more times until all the lights in the area had been put out, then he began walking down the street in the direction of #4 Privet Drive and the tabby cat. 

Except the tabby cat wasn’t there anymore. In its place, or very near where it had been, stood a tall, strict-looking woman who also wore a robe. She walked to the end of the driveway of #4 and waited for the old man. When he reached her, they spoke a few words before turning to look at the sky, as if star-gazing or waiting for someone. 

They did not wait long before they heard the rumble of an engine. The rumble grew louder and very soon they could see a motorcycle drifting down from the sky toward them. A large motorcycle with an even larger man seated on it screeched to a halt in front of them. The new man took off his helmet and spoke a few words to the pair before reaching into the sidecar and pulling out a bundle. 

The trio huddled together for a few moments before the old man took the bundle and placed it along with an envelope on the doorstep of #4 Privet Drive. The large man took and handkerchief from his coat pocket and blew his nose loudly. The old man exchanged a few more words with his companions before the large man got back onto his motorcycle and flew away. Then the lighter came back out and, with a single click, the streetlights came back on. The old man was gone and a tabby cat trotted up the street. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Harry Potter, wrapped in the bundle of blankets on the doorstep of #4 Privet Drive, shifted a bit to a more comfortable position. He was still uncomfortable, however, and his unconscious, young mind decided that he would fix that by changing into his more natural form. He became a wolf, jet black with yellow eyes. His mouth was slightly open and pure white teeth and a pink tongue poked through his lips. 

____________________________________________________________________________

A few miles down the road from #4 Privet Drive, a pack of four wolves emerged from a tunnel under a bridge. The first wolf was pure white with yellow eyes. He was followed quickly by a grey wolf with an X-shaped scar on his chest and a tan wolf with a collar. Lastly, came a younger wolf, just out of puppyhood, that wore four silver bangles around his right front paw.  
The four wolves sniffed the air as if there was something unusual about it.

“Kiba?” the brown wolf asked softly, in perfect English. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” replied the white wolf. “Hige, do you smell anything?”

“No. The scent of the Lunar Flower is gone, but . . . so is the nasty stench of machinery,” said the tan wolf.

“Are you sure your nose isn’t getting dull, Porky?” snipped the grey wolf. “It sure smells like machines to me.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s way fainter than any of the other towns we’ve been to, Tsume,” retorted Hige. He sniffed the air a bit more while the other wolves spread out, each sniffing either the ground or the air.

“Kiba, I don’t think we’re in our world anymore,” said Hige after a few minutes. 

The other three wolves stopped and looked at Hige. 

“What do you mean?” asked Kiba.

“I mean I think that tunnel transported us to a different universe, or a different time, or something! It smells weird here, like it’s younger. Like the humans haven’t messed the world up with their greed.”

“So this isn’t Paradise?” asked Toboe. 

“There are humans here, Runt, so I don’t think so,” said Tsume, irritably.

“What? So humans can’t enter Paradise? Then why were all the nobles trying to get there, huh?” asked Toboe. 

“Paradise is supposed to be for wolves, right? Maybe some humans can enter too, but they shouldn’t be able to take over like they did on Earth. If that’s so, then why does it stink of humans and have human towns instead of being inhabited by wolves?” answered Hige. 

“I say we go back. We don’t know a damn thing about this world. It could be even more dangerous than our own. At least we know how to deal with danger there,” said Tsume. 

Kiba nodded and the four wolves turned back around and headed back into the tunnel they came from. . . but they just reemerged on the other side of the bridge.

“Great, now we can’t get back,” growled Tsume. “Now what are we supposed to do?”

“How about we start by looking for something to eat,” suggested Hige.

“That’s always your first thought, Porky,” sneered Tsume.

“Well, I’m hungry. We’ve been in that tunnel for days and we haven’t eaten anything since that girl brought us food. I bet I’m not the only one that’s hungry either. You guys are just too afraid to look weak,” snapped Hige.

“Come on, guys. Stop fighting. We’re all tired and hungry, right Kiba? Kiba?” said Toboe.

Kiba had walked up the incline from the ditch they were in and was sniffing the air.

“Hige. Do you smell that?” he asked.

“Smell what?” groaned Hige and sniffed the air. His ears perked up. “Hey, yeah. I sure do.”

“What? What do you smell? I can’t smell anything,” whined Toboe.

“It’s a wolf cub,” replied Hige.

“What about it?” asked Tsume.

“Well, first of all, it’s alone. It’s too young to be left alone. His pack wouldn’t have left him unless they were all dead or something,” said Hige.

“Why do we care?” asked Tsume. “We can barely feed ourselves. Why should we have to worry about a pup like that?”

“It’s weird. It smells like a wolf and yet not. And it’s got some kind of power or aura around it, too,” continued Hige, sniffing the air again.

“All the more reason to leave it be. Some human will probably think it’s a dog and take care of it like the Runt over here,” said Tsume.

“Hey!” protested Toboe.

Kiba ignored their bantering and began to walk to where the smell was coming from, transforming into a black-haired, blue-eyed teenage boy as he did so. 

“Hey!” cried Tsume. “Where are you going?”

“There he goes again,” moaned Hige.

“Are we going to follow him?” asked Toboe.

“Well, there’s nothing else we can do for the moment, is there?” said Hige and he followed Kiba down the street, also transforming into a human. 

“Wait for me!” cried Toboe, running after them. Tsume scoffed before trailing after them.

They walked down the street at a brisk pace for a few minutes before Kiba stopped so abruptly that Toboe, following closely behind and looking curiously in every direction except the one he was going, rammed his nose into Kiba’s back.

“Hey,” Toboe complained, “don’t do that.”

“Shh,” said Kiba and the wolf pack strained their ears. From one of the houses nearby, they could hear the pup whimpering. Kiba led the group to the doorstep of the Dursley’s home and stared down at the bundle of blankets that held Harry Potter; he had switched back to his human form when he woke up at their approach, although this did not affect the wolves; they could see straight through the disguise. He was wrapped too tightly in his blankets to do anything other than turn his head and wiggle his long nose at them. Hige and Toboe knelt down in front of the bundle and stared at the young wolf, they could see right through the human disguise, while Tsume and Kiba stood above them.

“Hey,” said Hige, “this guy is pure-blooded. You don’t see many of them around anymore.”

“How do you know?” asked Tsume. “There could be more of them here in this world. For all we know, none of the wolves here can look like humans.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” sighed Hige. “Why the heck did they wrap him so tightly though?” Hige picked up the bundle and began to unwrap the blankets. The envelope the old man had stuck in the blankets fluttered to the ground. 

“Hey,” said Toboe, picking up the envelope. “Look at this.”

“What does it say?” asked Hige as he finished unwrapping the blankets and held the black furball at arm's length to look at him.

“How am I supposed to know?” said Toboe. “I never learned how to read.”

“Why not?” asked Hige. “You use to live with the humans.” He put the pup down on the ground where he began sniffing at the wolves and his surroundings.

“So? I was a pet. I wasn’t supposed to learn that stuff.”

“Give it here,” growled Tsume. “I’ll read it.”

“You know how to read, Tsume?” asked Toboe, wonderstruck.

“Of course. It’s unusual for a human to not know how to read,” Tsume said as if it were obvious.

“That’s right,” put in Kiba. “You ran with that human gang for a while.”

“Hmph. I was only using them,” protested Tsume.

“Come on, guys. Enough chit chat,” complained Hige. “What does the letter say?”

Tsume glared at Kiba, but read the letter.

“Apparently,” he said, “this is Harry Potter and his parents were killed by some strong ‘wizard’-whatever that is. He’s supposed to live here until he’s eleven when he’ll be invited to some school for wizards.”

“I know what wizards are,” exclaimed Toboe, happy to be able to contribute something for once. “They’re humans who have special powers.”

“Oh, yeah. Like what?” asked Hige skeptically.

“Like they can shoot fire and lightning and water from their staffs,” explained Toboe. “They can cast curses and healing spells on other humans, too.”

“Is that so?” scoffed Hige. “Well, I don’t believe it. Someone must be playing a joke or something.”

Toboe looked at the ground and mumbled, “Well, that’s what Granny told me. She used to read stories like that to me.”

“Never mind that,” said Tsume. “What are we going to do with him now? The letter didn’t say anything about this kid being a wolf, but it asked the people in this house to take care of him until he can go to that school.”

“Something smells weird about this house though,” said Kiba.

“Yeah. It smells too clean to be normal. There’s something else too that I just can’t quite put my nose on,” agreed Hige, tapping his index finger to his chin in a thoughtful way. 

“I have an idea. Why don’t we take him with us?” said Toboe.

Tsume started laughing. “Are you nuts, Runt? A pup like this wouldn’t last ten minutes in our world without his mother.”

“Why not?” pouted Toboe. “He’s old enough to eat meat, isn’t he? And we could protect him.”

“We can barely find enough food to feed the four of us. We would have to worry about feeding another mouth that doesn’t even help us hunt and would only slow us down,” said Tsume.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should take him. I mean, it won’t be long before he can hunt and protect himself. There’s also that special aura he has. I think he would become a great ally,” put in Hige.

“What do you think, Kiba? Can we bring him with us?” asked Toboe.

Kiba was silent a moment before he nodded his approval.

“All right!” cheered Toboe.

“Fine, but I’m not taking care of him,” growled Tsume.

“Cool,” said Hige. “Now let’s go find us some food.”

The four shifted into wolves and Toboe gently gripped Harry’s scruff between his teeth. Kiba began running down the street, away from #4 Privet Drive and away from the human town with the rest of his pack hard on his heels.


	6. A New Family

Across the street, a curtain swished back into place at the front window. Mrs. Arabella Figg gathered up her dressing gown and hurried to her fireplace. With shaking hands, she attempted to strike a match to light a fire. It was a good ten minutes before she got the kindling lit and another three before she had a big enough fire going. She lunged for the small clay pot on the mantle piece and flung the lit off. She grabbed a handful of the green powder within and threw it into the fire. 

"Albus Dumbledore!" she shouted in a rather squeaky voice, although the shock she just had may have attributed a bit to that. If any normal person had seen her at this moment, they would have at first thought her shaken up, but her next action would have convinced them she was both suicidal and insane.

The fire blazed green for a moment. When it died down to a considerably smaller size, she knelt down and thrust her head into the fire. Immediately, she saw an old man sitting at a very large desk in a very large office.

"Professor Dumbledore!" she screeched, startling the old man out of the paper he was writing on.

"Oh. Hello, Mrs. Figg," he said jovially. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, Professor," she sobbed. "It's terrible. Just terrible. I-I didn't know what to do. I c-couldn't think of a-anyone e-else to c-call." As she spoke, tears began to run down Mrs. Figg's cheeks and her voice began to crack.

Dumbledore's smile melted off his face and he spoke before Mrs. Figg could ramble on anymore.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Figg?"

"They took him," she wailed.

"Who took whom?" asked Dumbledore, still calm.

"They took Harry!"

Dumbledore's blood ran cold. Mrs. Figg had time to blow her nose before he spoke again, this time very quietly, almost a whisper, but very sternly.

"Who took Harry, Mrs. Figg?"

She immediately stopped sniffling. Dumbledore's seriousness had dried her tears.

"I don't know. Werewolves, I think. A group of boys walked up the street, right up to him. They stood around for a while and talked, I think. Then they all turned into wolves, picked him up,   
and ran away! Oh, Dumbledore! What are we going to do-o-o?!" She began to cry again as she finished.

"We'll find him, Mrs. Figg. We have to. I'll be right there."

Mrs. Figg nodded and pulled her head out of the fire. She reached up to her coffee table for a tissue and blew her nose and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm herself before getting up and walking to the front door. She walked outside into the warm night air and looked around for Dumbledore. She heard a crack, farther up the street and gathered her night skirts again before running to meet him at the Dursley house.

"Which way did they go, Mrs. Figg?" asked Dumbldore as he reached her. She pointed to the east and scurried after the Headmaster as he began a brisk walk down the street, muttering a spell.

"You flooed me right after this happened, right?" he asked. When Mrs. Figg nodded, he continued. "Then they can't have gone far. I placed a locator spell on Harry, just in case his relatives decided not to keep him."

Dumbledore mumbled some words again before halting in the middle of the road. Mrs. Figg stopped beside him. 

"What's wrong, sir?" she asked.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment before he mumbled the spell again. When nothing happened, he turned to his companion and said, "It's not working. I can't find Harry."

Mrs. Figg's face turned a chalky white before she replied in a very small voice, "W-w-what?"

The Headmaster's features hardened as he spoke once again. "I am sorry, Mrs. Figg, but I must leave you. Please continue to watch the house for me." He disappeared with a loud crack before the poor lady had a chance to reply. She had no desire to start sobbing in her night gown in the middle of the street so late at night, so she turned around and ran back to her little home. As soon as she made it through the door, she sat down on the floor, clamped a hand over her mouth, and let out a muffled wail as tears streamed down her face.  
________________________________________  
When Petunia Dursley opened the front door the next morning to pick up the newspaper, she found a few blankets and a letter on her front porch. She picked up the letter and read it, then raced back inside to show her husband.

"What should we do, Vernon?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "We never got this letter. We never saw the boy." And he threw the letter into the fire. When Mr. Dursley went to work later that morning, he never noticed the footprint the wolves had left in Mrs. Dursley's flower patch. Neither did Mrs. Dursley when she watered the patch that afternoon and soon it was washed away as if it had never been there at all.  
________________________________________

Papers flew across the desk and fluttered to the floor as Dumbledore sat down hard in his chair, placing his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. Professor Minerva McGonagall stared down her long, thin nose at her distraught boss.

"I do not see why you are so upset about this, Albus," she said sharply.

"Don't see? Don't see?!" asked Dumbledore histerically. "He was supposed to be our savior. He would fix everything for us. But now I can't find him. He's gone and I don't have any more ideas."

"How do you know he's gone, Albus?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I can't find him. None of the spells work," he replied. Why was she asking this? She had been with him the entire time he had tried all the different location spells he could think of. She had seen that none of them had worked; they still had no idea where Harry Potter had been taken.

"But that doesn't mean he is gone for good," snapped McGonagall.

Dumbledore's head snapped up. She had his attention now. There was no way she would make such a statement without having the proof needed to back it up. When he did not reply,   
Minerva reached a hand inside her robes and brought out a large black book with a coat of arms bearing a lion, a snake, a badger, and a raven. She set the book down on Dumbledore's desk and flipped through it. When she found the page she was looking for, she turned the book around to show Dumbledore.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked softly.

"The Hogwarts book of students," he replied. He had not thought about using this. It held the name of every student who had ever attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as every student currently attending and those who would be attending. Even as the baby was being born, its name would be added to the list of future students.

"Yes," said Minerva and placed a long, thin finger on top of one of the names.

Harry James Potter

"It would not list his name unless he was still alive and able to attend Hogwarts," she continued.

"But what if the ones who took him decide to kill him?" asked Dumbledore.

"It's been three days, Albus. I believe if they were planning to kill him, they would have already done so. And a child that age cannot live on its own for very long. If they had abandoned him, he would be dead already. If none of your spells work, there is nothing we can do. We know nothing about who took him or where they are. We must trust that the prophecy is true. It would not have been given if it would not come to be. Harry has been marked by You-Know-Who as his equal. No one else has. He is your Chosen One and as such, he will survive until the day of his destiny."  
________________________________________  
For eleven years, Kiba and his pack traversed Earth, searching for a way back to their home or to Paradise. They learned much about this world and how the normal humans lived. They traveled through normal forests and met regular wolves; wolves who did not have the ability to take on a human form, and lived much the same way Kiba, Hige, and Tsume had when they were younger. They would stay with each pack for a while, but were restless and soon moved on.

They never believed what the letter had said about wizards until they happened upon a magical forest and met a pack of magical wolves; wolves who could become humans and interchanged between living as humans in a nearby town, and living as wolves. Such packs knew enough about the wizarding community that they could tell the Paradise wolves that wizards did indeed exist in this world, but because the magical wolves were shunned there, they did not know very much about wizards. They were able to point Kiba's pack in the direction of a very friendly herd of centaurs that answered all of the wolves' questions.

So life went on for the Paradise wolves. Together, they traveled through magical forests and met dragons and werewolves and more magical wolves. The pack would ask these wolves about Paradise and the Flower Maiden, but each new pack stated their belief that both Paradise and the Flower Maiden were fairy tales told to pups. The Paradise wolves did find out, however, that in this world, magical wolves aged, not as regular wolves, but as humans, and had lifespans of nearly 100 years. As such there were very few packs of magical wolves.

Toboe grew in stature until he was just as large and wise as the rest of the pack. His human features smoothed out into a rather handsome 23-year-old man. Tsume, Kiba, and Hige did not change much. Their human features grew older, but that just made them more appealing to girls, both human and wolf. The pack had many young ladies swooning over them whenever they decided to venture into a human town. Many female wolves attempted to join their pack when they traveled through woods, but the pack never found any quite to their liking, although Hige tried several times to convince the pack to take on a few girls. Not that the girls he chose were very keen on traveling around the world.

As his name was rather unusual for his pack, Harry’s name was changed to Ashi. Ashi traveled with them and soon grew from a gangly pup into a proud adult wolf, although his human form remained that of a child that wore a grey t-shirt, black jacket, black jeans, and grey tennis shoes. His black hair was cut short and was unruly, but in a way that did not do him any injustice to his personality or features. He remained the quiet one, but he was very observant and was not afraid to speak his thoughts when he thought them important.

Ashi integrated himself into the pack nicely. Kiba became the silent father, Toboe became his playmate, Hige was the goofy uncle, and, despite his proclamation that he would have nothing to do with raising the pup, Tsume became the stern, but dependable older brother. It was from Tsume and Kiba that Ashi learned about the laws of the wolves and Toboe and Hige taught Ashi how to interact with humans. Tsume attempted that same, but as he had interacted mostly with the kind of people that were not the every-day type, he was quickly shot down as a teacher for that subject. He was, however, able to teach everyone the basics of human schoolwork, such as reading and writing.

But Ashi had noticed he was not like the others in his pack. He was not even like the magical wolves. He had special powers that came in different forms that he could not control.  
Once, after one of his first hunts, a boar had gouged his leg so badly that he could barely walk. Being too large by then to be carried by any member of the pack, Ashi was in danger of being left behind. The pack was traveling through a dangerous part of the world and even though they would do their best to protect Ashi, there were simply too few of them to hold off a large enemy for long. Their best option was usually to run, and since Ashi was hurt, he would become easy pickings for any predator that was hungry.

Ashi had worried about his predicament all through that night and finally fell into a fitful sleep. When he woke, however, his leg was completely healed. There wasn't even a scar. This would not have been so significant if it weren't for the fact that there was no moon that night. There was nothing to help him heal so fast. This had happened before the wolves knew about the magical community of Earth and all of them were puzzled. They did not have time to think too hard about it though and the incident was soon forgotten.

Other similar episodes of accidental magic occurred every once in a while, and the pack was puzzled as to what was happening with their youngest member. It wasn't until they met the herd of centaurs that Ashi's predicament was explained to them. They were told about the Blood Adoption Ceremony and how it transferred the parents' genes to the child, magical genes as well. The centaurs explained that they knew something about the Ceremony that wizards did not.

Because they had performed adoptions as well, they knew that if the child was of a different species than the parents, certain rules applied. Once the parents died, the child's connection to them and their species gradually faded varyingly. If the child had been connected to them for a long while before the parents died, the change would be minimal. If the parents died soon after performing the adoption, the child would eventually only retain a few of the parents' qualities. In Ashi's case, he kept the magical part of their blood, but he was otherwise a pure-blooded wolf.

The pack protested against Ashi going to some strange school, but the centaurs graciously explained what would happen if Ashi didn't have the proper training to control his powers. This debate lasted many days, but the centaurs told them several stories about wizards who had not gone to school. Needless to say, the stories were gruesome enough that the centaurs finally won the argument. Before the pack had left their company to search for more information about Ashi's school, the centaurs had given them one last piece of advice: to not let anyone know what Ashi was. That he would be safest if everyone believed he was an ordinary human wizard.

The pack thanked the centaurs for all their help and began their search for Hogwarts. They did everything they could to find out about the wizarding community, but as the magical creatures tended to keep to themselves and the wizards had, over the years, perfected the art of hiding, the wolves knew almost nothing. Some centaurs were able to tell them about the general location of Hogwarts and about another herd in the forest by the school. But that herd held some of the more extravagant and proud centaurs who tended to think of themselves as nobler than other herds just because they birthed more philosophers and star-gazers than the average herd.

"What are we going to do? I thought you wanted to know where I was," said Ashi worriedly and they left the Scandinavian centaurs they had visited (and questioned) to begin their journey again.

"Hige's nose will be able to find you," said Kiba.

"Sure, Brat," grinned Hige, ruffling Ashi's hair. Ashi swatted the hand way. "My nose can follow you wherever you go."

"What if we go by one of those factories. One of the ones that makes you faint when you smell them. What are you going to do then?" asked Ashi, glaring at Hige.

"Well, then I hope you know how to survive on your own," teased Hige.

Ashi scowled at Hige but was relieved to hear that the pack wouldn't leave him. He had never been away from them and was very nervous about going to a school full of humans when the most interaction he had had with one was passing him on a street.


	7. Diagon Alley: Part 1

The wolves traveled around aimlessly for the next few months, waiting for the Hogwarts letter. It finally came on Ashi's 11th birthday, July 31st, when they were in an eastern China forest. The pack had just finished a hunt and were napping in the shade when an owl landed in front of Ashi and stuck out its leg impatiently. There was a roll of parchment tied to the bird's leg which Ashi untied. The owl hopped a few paces away from the wolves and waited for instructions.

"Well," asked Toboe, "what does it say?"

Ashi unrolled the parchment and read:

Mr. H. Potter  
Pine Tree near Clearing  
Darkhan, Mongolia

"Wow," remarked Hige. "They're really exact aren't they."

Ashi nodded and said, "But who's Harry Potter? Is that me?"

"Oh, yeah," said Hige. "I forgot about that. Wasn't there some kind of letter with Ashi when we found him? It said his name was hairy something-or-other."

"I remember," said Toboe, nodding. "Harry Potter. I don't know why they chose that name though. It's sounds like you're hairy and you make pottery."

Tsume scrunched up his nose while Ashi laughed. "Get on with it, Brat," said Tsume. Ashi opened the envelope and continued reading.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Oder of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31st. 

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress

Toboe picked up the second piece of parchment which listed Harry's school supplies.

"Looks like we'll be going shopping." he said, skimming his eyes over the page.

"Yeah," said Ashi.

"Well, then," replied Hige. "better send them your reply, Brat. Hopefully, they'll send us some directions or a place we're supposed to drop you off."

The owl flew away as soon as the letter was attached, and the pack watched it go, then went back to their naps. They received a second letter a few days later explaining that Ashi would meet a man named Hagrid at the Leaky Cauldron in London who would help him with his school shopping on August 20. So the pack spent the next few weeks traveling back to England to meet Hagrid.  
________________________________________

"Where the hell is this place?" growled Tsume after they had walked around the block for the third time.

"Well, this is the address they gave us," mused Hige as he looked at Ashi's letter.

"Wait a minute," said Ashi. "Is that it?" He pointed across the street to a deserted alley between two buildings.

"I don't see anything," said Toboe.

"Look closer," said Kiba. "There's a spell."

Tsume, Hige, and Toboe squinted at the alley. Eventually, Toboe smiled.

"I see it. Doesn't look very welcoming though," he said.

"Yeah. It's kind of dingy," remarked Hige.

Tsume was silent. He still didn't see it, and he was hoping his pack wasn't playing with him. Ashi hopped off the sidewalk and sprinted across the street with Kiba, Hige, and Toboe hot on his heels. Tsume waited a moment before following them. He stared hard at the alley but still didn't see anything until Ashi pushed open a wooden door and disappeared. The rest of the pack followed after him and found themselves in a hot and crowded bar filled with men and women wearing long, flowing robes.

The air stunk of alcohol and sweat and the pack simultaneously wrinkled their noses in disgust. Hige went so far as to pinch his nose.

"Ugh. It reeks," he complained. "Let's hurry and find this Hagrid and get out of here."

With Tsume leading, the pack pushed past the crowd and stood before the bartender.

"'ow can I 'elp yeh?" asked the bartender, smacking his lips as he chewed on something.

"We're looking for someone called Hagrid," Tsume said.

"Oy! 'agrid!" shouted the bartender. "Ye've got company."

A man about eight feet tall and occupying the space of three tables turned around to look at the bartender. He had long, dark, shaggy hair and beard and was wearing an enormous coat that looked to be made of animal skins.

"wah?" he bellowed.

"Ah said, yeh've got company," shouted the bartender over the din, cupping his hands over his mouth the localize his voice.

Hagrid waded through the crowd toward the bar.

"Well, 'ho's this?" Hagrid asked. Ashi stepped forward and said politely, "I'm Ashi. You're supposed to help me get my school supplies."

Hagrid looked at them blankly. "'ho?" he asked.

Tsume crossed his arms and glared. "You might know him better as Harry Potter."

The bartender started spluttering.

"'arry Potter? The 'arry Potter?" he asked, nearly climbing over the bar to get to Ashi and shake his hand.

"Harry Potter?"

"He's here?"

"Where?"

"Over there."

The crowd began to surge toward Ashi. The pack, oblivious to how famous Ashi was in the wizarding world, encircled Ashi, growling softly at the people as they pressed forward. They didn't dare release their fangs and claws in such a public place, so the crowd just jostled them away from Ashi in their eagerness to reach him. Ashi found himself surrounded, not by his family, but by strangers wanting to shake his hand and touch his hair and see the scar on his forehead as he stood rooted rigidly to his spot, dumbfounded.

"It's such an honor, Mr. Potter, to meet you, Mr. Potter," they said as they lined up to shake his hand. Ashi was sure he saw more than one person get back in line to shake his hand again.

This went on for a while before Hagrid finally picked Ashi up under the arms and dropped him in front of a smaller man with a turban wrapped around his head.

"'arry," said Hagrid. "This is Professor Quirrel. 'e'll be your Defense 'gainst the Dark Arts teacher."

Quirrel stuck out his hand. "N-n-n-nice t-t-to m-m-m-meet y-you, H-harry," he stuttered.

Ashi grimaced and took the offered hand. Something was strange about this man; he had two different scents.

"Nice to meet you, too, Professor," he said. "Please call me Ashi. I don't really like the other name."

"O-o-o-of c-c-course," said Quirrel, taking back his hand to rub the back of it vigorously as if he had been hurt.

Toboe stuck his head between Hagrid's legs with a gasp and crawled through. Ashi turned to look at him as Quirrel disappeared into the crowd.

"Geeze, Ashi. What did you do?" said Toboe breathlessly. "Become a superhero while we were sleeping and save the world?"

Tsume, followed by Kiba, shoved his way between two squealing teenage girls. Hige squeezed himself through the crowd opposite them and fell on his knees from the force of his push behind Hagrid.

"What is with these people?" gasped Hige, standing up.

"Wat ya mean? Yeh've never 'eard of 'arry Pot'er?" asked Hagrid incredulously.

"Sure," said Tsume testily. "He's a normal person who's lived with us his whole life and has never done anything to warrant this kind of attention."

"Na," said Hagrid. "'e's the most famous 'izard in the worl'. Killed You-Know-Who and 'e was a baby."

Ashi squinted at him. "I did what? I killed someone?" he asked.

"Yeh," praised Hagrid. "Stopped the mos' evil wizard ever seen!"

"Oh yeah?" said Tsume, crossing his arms. "How?"

"No one knows," said Hagrid. "You-Know-'ho went affer 'im and 'is parents when 'e were one. 'is house were destroyed-his 'arents too-but he were a sleep'n soundly in 'is crib. You-Know-  
'ho ain't been seen since."

Tsume laughed. "I don't believe it. How can a kid who can't even walk defeat someone like that? When all of you 'wizards' couldn't?"

"He's invincible!" shouted someone from the crowd.

"No, he's not. He got ahold of You-Know-Who's wand and killed him!" shouted another.

"When he was one?!" asked a third and the crowd broke into more shouting, everyone trying to get in their opinions and berating others for such insane theories. Hagrid shouted for the pack to follow him and led them out a back door into a little courtyard.

"That's bet'er," he said. "Now. I'm 'agrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

Each of the wolves introduced themselves to Hagrid. Ashi took the opportunity to mention his preferred name to Hagrid.

"Nice ter meet cha," said Hagrid pleasantly.

"Yeah," said Toboe. "Um, what are we doing here?"

No one answered, but Hagrid grinned, pulling out a pink umbrella from his massive coat and tapped a few bricks on the wall behind them. Tsume jumped away a few feet as the wall he had been leaning on shifted and the brick in the center folded away from each other to form an archway. The wolves peered through the opening at a bustling street with buildings lining both sides. Men, women, and children in robes shuffled past each other, stopping every once in a while to stare through shop windows.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," said Hagrid dramatically.

The wolves gave no reaction beyond staring blandly at him and Diagon Alley, deflating Hagrid's excitement. He cleared his throat then said, "Well, firs' stop is Gringotts. Got ter get yeh some money."

"I have money?" asked Ashi.

"Oh yeah," replied Hagrid. "Yer parents had a whole vault for yeh."

Toboe leaned over to Hige and whispered, "That's good. I totally forgot that we would need money for him." Hige grinned sheepishly at him and whispered back, "Me, too. And I bet Tsume and Kiba did too."

The group walked across to the large bank. As they entered, the wolves noticed writing engraved on the second set of doors leading to the main hall. They read:

Enter stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there.

"What else will we find?" asked Ashi.

"Trouble," answered Kiba. "They most likely have some form of protection for the treasure."

"Do you think it would affect us, too?"

Hagrid answered this time, "Wizards are crafty, Harry, and teh goblins have their own ways of keeping intruders out. I 'eard they have a dragon down thar. Been kinder want'n ter see meself, actually."

"You mean like Firebrand?" asked Ashi.

Several years ago, the pack had stumbled upon a lost juvenile dragon in Russia. Because they were magical creatures instead of humans, the dragon felt quite comfortable with the pack. Ashi and the dragon, who had proclaimed himself to be called Firebrand, had become playmates while the group looked for Firebrand's family. The boys had shared with each other the customs of their respective races and the pack learned much about magical Earth from Firebrand.

"'ho?" asked Hagrid.

Tsume laughed. "I doubt any of Firebrand's tribe would let themselves be tamed by anyone or anything." And the subject was dropped.

Hagrid was still confused but didn't push the obviously private group. He thundered through the bank's hall up to the main counter. A squat green creature with pointed ears and long, thin fingers was counting money and pouring it into a little bag.

"Mornin'," said Hagrid. "We're 'ere ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."

The goblin peered at Hagrid then scanned the rest of the group. When he saw the rest were wolves, he dropped his eyes a bit, so he was not staring at them, and nodded politely at each one. They nodded back.

"Does Mr. Potter have his key?" asked the goblin, looking back at Hagrid.

"Oh, yeh," said Hagrid and began pulling junk out of his pockets. Ashi didn't even have to sniff at the dog biscuits that scattered over the counter to smell the rank stench. The other contents were just as bad. The goblin stared disdainfully down his nose at Hagrid and his trash while he waited for the key.

"'ere it is," said Hagrid, handing the goblin a tiny golden key. The goblin examined the key as Hagrid continued, "An' I have a let'er from Professor Dumbledore about the You-Know-What in vault 713."

The goblin took the letter, read it, then said, "All right. I'll have a goblin take you to both vaults." He turned and shouted over his shoulder through a doorway.

"Griphook!"

Another younger goblin appeared and stood before them, staring at the wolves for a moment before remembering his manners and lowering his eyes. He took the key and letter from the first goblin and listened as he explained the errands the guests required. Griphook gestured for the group to follow him down some stairs once the first goblin was finished. Hagrid stuffed his junk back into his pockets and hurried after them.

"What's in vault 713?" asked Ashi.

"Ashi!" barked Tsume. It was very rude for wolves (and humans for that matter) to ask of private business, especially when someone had made it clear that the information was need-to-know. Ashi was old enough to have an adult wolf body, but he still maintained the mind of an 11-year-old human, albeit a little mature for his age. Ashi dropped his head and murmured an apology.

"'s alright ter ask questions," said Hagrid, "but I still can't tell yer. Hogwarts business. Very secret."

They continued following Griphook, who was opening the door of a small railroad cart, gesturing for them to get in. The six of them squeezed in, Ashi and Hagrid in the back, Toboe, Tsume, and Hige in the middle, and Kiba sat up front with Griphook. As soon as they were all in, the cart took off. It whizzed through the tunnels, changing tracks every five seconds and turning every which-way: left, right, up, down (once Ashi thought he saw a burst of flame and heard a roar from one of the branching tracks), even going around a startlingly sharp u-turn before they finally screeched to a halt in front of a plain metal door. It looked like all the other doors in the tunnels and Ashi couldn't figure out how Griphook knew which path to take and which door to choose.

They all stumbled out. Hagrid, Hige, and Toboe each looked like they were close to losing their lunches. Hagrid leaned on the wall and took large, gulping breaths, attempting to quell the bile in his throat.

"Oh my gosh," groaned Hige, "I thought that was never going to end."

"Huh," said Tsume. "Wimp." But he was looking a little green as well. Even Kiba looked a little winded. Only Ashi and Griphook looked not the least bit queasy; Griphook because he had obviously taken this ride many times and Ashi because he had had the pleasure of riding on Firebrand's back. The pair walked past the rest of their group and the goblin stuck the tiny key into the door's keyhole. A click resounded throughout the cavern and the door swung open. Griphook bowed slightly and gestured dramatically to the interior of the vault. Ashi headed inside and had to stifle a gasp when he saw what was in the Potter vault. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it sure wasn't this.

Great piles of gold coins, heaps of silver, and mounds of bronze littered the room. Here and there lay a few pictures, some plates and cups, and other heirlooms. Even though he had never learnt human currency, Ashi could tell this vault held some very valuable items.

The rest of the pack poked their heads through the door. Hige immediately bounced into the room and began proclaiming loudly about how much food this would buy and how he would be able to tell girls how rich he was now. Tsume pointed out that none of them would ever believe him and that the money belonged to Ashi. The two began to argue, but Ashi ignored the noise and watched Hagrid. Hagrid had pulled out a little bag and was starting to shovel money in. He pointed to each of the piles and began explaining wizarding currency.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he said. "The silver ones are Sickles and the bronze ones are Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon, twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. Thar, that should be nuff fer couple o' terms."

He strode back out of the room to the cart, the rest of the group following him. The door creaked shut with a bang and Griphook reinserted the key to lock it before joining them at the cart.

"Oh, boy. Here we go again," groaned Hige.

"Vault 713 now, please, and can we go more slowly?" asked Hagrid.

"One speed only," said Griphook and Ashi could have sworn he saw the goblin's lips twitch in amusement. He couldn't blame him. Ashi was also feeling a guilty sort of glee at seeing his family in such distress. It wasn't very often that anything got the wolves' fur ruffled.

They all piled back into the cart with a few moans and they were off on another roller coaster ride. Half an eternity later, the cart screeched to a halt in front of another door. Hagrid and Griphook hopped out of the cart, but the rest of the group opted to stay where they were. As Ashi looked at the door, he noticed that it didn't have a keyhole. No hinges or seams either. In fact, it was as if the door wasn't a door at all, but rather, a piece of the wall painted to look like a door.

"Stand back," said Griphook and he walked right up to the "door" and slid one of his long, bony fingers down the middle. The door began to melt away, slowly becoming transparent, revealing a nearly empty cavern. There was only a small pedestal on which was another coin bag. The light from the doorway shone on the pedestal like a spotlight as Hagrid walked inside and picked up the bag.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook in answer to the wolves' questioning looks.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" asked Toboe.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

"Perfect place to stick Porky over here for his time outs," sneered Tsume.

Hagrid emerged from the room and he and Griphook made their way back to their seats as the door slowly materialized behind them.

"Hey!" protested Hige. "I could do the same to you."

"I'd like to see you try," teased Tsume.

Hige was about to retort and Toboe was about to intervene when Griphook pulled a lever and the cart shot off into the darkness again and all of them thought it wiser to keep their mouths shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. Explanation time:
> 
> 1\. There are wolves that can take on a human disguise on every planet (so yes, Ashi and Kiba/Hige/Tsume/Toboe are all the same species of wolf). On Earth, there are three types of wolves: normal wolves, magical wolves (Kiba and company), and werewolves. Wizards do not believe magical wolves exist (because sightings are so rare and rather confusing to see); if they see one (and are able to comprehend what they saw), they automatically lump them in with werewolves. Muggles do so as well. 
> 
> 2\. Because Ashi is part wizard and part magical wolf, he is already special, but I will include and extra bit at the end of this arc to show how he is even more special. This will explain why Kiba and company were called from their own world to assist AShi and will also explain why the castle squid and forest occupants do some weird stuff where Ashi is involved. 
> 
> 3\. Magical wolves have an increased tolerance to magic. This is why Dumbledore couldn't find Harry after the wolves picked him up (their tolerance sort of acted like a great big dome of protection) and why it took so long to get his letter to him (the owl couldn't find him because the usual finding magic didn't work. the owl had to actually fly around the world till he recognized the person he had been told was Harry Potter. A spell had been cast on the letter itself to change the address as the owl flew so that Dumbledore would know exactly where Harry was). Some magic will still affect them, though; for example, if a fog spell is cast to hinder sight, it would do so, but if a spell was cast to directly keep their eyes from working, their vision would only become hazy for a while instead of completely blinding them. 
> 
> I was going to try to include these facts in the story itself, but I realized there was no smooth way for me to do that. And they would be near the end of the story if they would be able to appear at all.


	8. Diagon Alley: Part 2

When they made it back to the entrance and had thanked Griphook for his services, Hagrid nodded toward a store labeled Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions and said “Might as well get yer uniform. Eh, Ashi? Would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts.”

“I could use something to drink,” said Tsume casually.

“Me too,” piped Hige.

“Toboe and I will go with Ashi, then,” said Kiba. The wolves nodded at each other and went their separate ways. Ashi led the way to the robe shop and opened the door, Kiba and Toboe close behind. A doorbell rang as they entered and a squat, smiling woman came around the corner and greeted them.

“Hogwarts, dear?” she asked. “Got the lot here-another young man being fitted up just now, in fact.” She pointed to blonde standing on a small stool being fitted for his robes.

Kiba and Toboe sat down a pair of chairs next to the doorway as Madam Malkin led Ashi to a second stool next to the boy, slipped a robe over his head, and began pinning.

“Hello,” said the boy. “Hogwarts, too?”

“Yes,” said Ashi. He really didn’t understand why all these people were asking him if he would be going to Hogwarts. As far as he knew, there weren’t any other wizarding schools anywhere near here. Well, there might be a few children just buying some new robes, but he doubted there would be very many not getting school robes while in a robe shop at this time of year.

The boy next to him began to prattle. “My father’s next door buying my books and Mother’s up the street looking at wands,” said the boy in a bored, drawling voice. “Then I’m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don’t see why first years can’t have their own. I think I’ll bully Father into getting me one and I’ll smuggle it in somehow.”

Ashi tended to try to think the best about new people, but his opinion of this boy was rapidly changing from “maybe he’s nice” to “he’s a spoiled brat.” He still had a bit of hope that the boy was only trying to show off.

“Have you got your own broom?” the boy went on, speaking so quickly that Ashi wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise.

“No,” said Ashi.

“Play Quidditch at all?”

“No,” said Ashi. He had watched quidditch games before and wasn’t very excited about being so far off the ground, but he had never flown before so he decided to leave final judgments until after he had tried out a broom.

“I do—Father says it’s a crime if I’m not picked to play for my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you’ll be in yet?”

“No,” said Ashi, quickly growing annoyed with this boy. Why should anyone care which house they were put in? They all sounded perfectly fine to Ashi. Each had it’s good and bad points and Ashi was ready to conform himself to be able to use each to the best of its ability.

“Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I’ll be in Slytherin, all our family has been—imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”

“Well--” began Ashi, but was interrupted when the boy shouted, pointing toward the front of the shop.

“I say, look at that man!”

Ashi looked over his shoulder and saw Hagrid standing outside the window and holding up a large bird cage that held a beautiful snowy owl in it. Tsume and Hige were standing a little behind Hagrid, plucking feathers from their clothes. Kiba and Toboe were walking outside to greet them.

“Those are my friends,” said Ashi. “The big one is Hagrid. He’s—“

The boy cut in again. “Oh, I’ve heard of him. He’s a sort of servant at Hogwarts, isn’t he?”

“He’s the gamekeeper,” said Ashi, wishing that Madam Malkin would finish soon so he could leave.

“Yes, exactly,” said the boy. “I heard he’s a sort of savage—lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed.”

“Hmmm,” said Ashi.

“Say, why is he here with you? Where are your parents?”

“They’re dead,” said Ashi.

“Oh sorry,” said the boy, not sounding sorry at all. “But they were our kind, weren’t they?”

“They were a witch and wizard if that’s what you mean.” Technically, they were; at least, his adoptive parents were. 

“I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What’s your surname, anyway?”

Ashi was seething on his stool, but before he could retort, Madam Malkin said, “That’s you done, my dear,” and Ashi stepped down off the stool, glad to be finally rid of the prick.

“Well, I’ll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose,” said the blonde. Ashi nodded to him as Madam Malkin wrapped his robes. He pulled out his money bag and counted out the total, then walked out the door with the bundle. 

He walked up to his friends and pointed at the owl, which pecked angrily at his finger through the bars. “What’s this?” he asked.

“’appy birthday, ‘arry,” replied Hagrid, holding out the bird cage.

Ashi looked at Hagrid queerly. “It’s not my birthday. That was last month.”

Hagrid’s smile widened. “Tha’s alright. See, th’ ‘rigional plan was fer us ter meet sometime near yer birthday, but th’ owl never came with yer acceptance le’er till couple weeks ago. Ah had alrea’y planned to get yer an owl anyway.”

Ashi turned to inspect his new owl, which glared back at him. He knew wizards used owls to carry mail, but he couldn’t think why he would need one. The plan was for the rest of his pack to be close by and there wasn’t anyone else he would need to send mail to. But he understood that Hagrid was trying to be thoughtful, so Ashi smiled gratefully up at the large man and thanked him.

“Had quite a time pickin’ him out for ya. These two,” he pointed to Tsume and Hige, who were picking the last of the feathers from their hair, “didn’t seem to like any o’ the ones I picked. Don’t know why they wanted this one though. She’s a real tough guy. Owner said she’s been ‘ere for months cause nobody wanted ‘er cause o’ ‘er temperament.”

Ashi struggled to think of a valid reason as to why Tsume and Hige had fought so hard to get him an ill-tempered owl; the wolves would need one that wasn’t afraid of them, but he couldn’t tell Hagrid that. So he said, “Well, I have special tastes. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

Hagrid laughed. “No trouble at all. Had quite a bit of fun in there. All of the ‘nimals either attacked or ran ‘way from us.”

Ashi grinned awkwardly and Tsume growled “Damn birds” under his teeth as Hige fished another feather from his mouth and Toboe teased them both about not being able to defend themselves from some measly birds.

“What’s next on the list? It’s going to be dark by the time we’re done if we keep moving at this rate,” said Kiba.

“Right,” replied Hagrid. “How ‘bout yer books.” And he led the way further down the street towards a bookstore called Flourish and Blotts. Ashi had to restrain himself from staring in at the items for sale in shops they passed, but he was a fully-grown wolf and it did not become him to act childish. Pride of the wolf and all that.

They obtained his books, cauldron, scales, and most of the rest of his supplies without further incident. Ashi was enjoying himself immensely though, looking at the different subjects in the library and the potion ingredients he would be using. But because the rest of the pack would most likely have no further contact with the wizarding world, the shopping was rather boring for them. Hige and Toboe had gone back to the Leaky Cauldron to find themselves something to eat after they had finished with the potion shop and they hadn’t come back yet.

The sun was just touching the horizon when Hagrid took one last look at the list and said, “Just yer wand left now,” and pointed to another store at the end of the street.

“Finally,” groaned Tsume, “I thought it was never going to end.”

“You should have gone with Hige and Toboe if you hate it so much,” said Kiba.

“Yeah, right,” snorted Tsume, “and leave you and the Brat to fend for yourselves? Fat chance. You’d be up to your neck in trouble in five minutes.”

“I can take care of myself,” interjected Ashi while Kiba glared at Tsume.

“Hey,” Tsume turned to Hagrid, “is the list going to be this long next year?”

Hagrid chuckled. “No. Next year ye’ll have all the basics and only need things like books and ingredients.”

“Good. ‘Cause I ain’t doing this again.”

They reached their destination and the wolves gazed at what must have been the oldest building in existence. The wood was weathered and creaky. Peeling gold letters over the door read ‘Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.’ In the glass window next to the door lay a single wand on a faded purple cushion.

The group opened the door and a bell rang in the back of the shop. It was so quiet and dusty that they felt like they had entered a very strict library. There was a small entry way for customers but the rest of the small building was lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves. The shelves were placed so closely together that whoever wanted to go between them would have to be very skinny and have to turn sideways. Long, narrow boxes covered in dust were stacked in neat rows on the shelves.

Hagrid took a seat in the single spindly chair in the room while the wolves milled about, looking at the boxes.

“Good evening,” said an old man as he appeared from between a pair of shelves. The three wolves looked in the direction the voice had come from, not at all startled having smelled the newcomer. There was a loud crunching noise near Hagrid, however, and he quickly got off the chair, looking sheepish, and stood next to the wolves.

“Hello,” said Ashi.

“Ah yes,” said the man. “Yes, yes. I thought I’d be seeing you soon. Harry Potter. You have your mother’s eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches. Long, swishy; made of willow. Nice for charm work.” He moved closer to Ashi, staring at his face. Ashi stared right back at him and had to resist the urge to growl at the man as Ashi’s dominance was being unknowingly challeneged by the gaunt wand-maker.

“Your father, on the other hand,” said Mr. Ollivander, “favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Your father favored it, but really, it’s the wand that chooses the wizard.”

“Yes, yes,” said Tsume impatiently. “All very interesting, but could we get on with this.”

Ollivander ignored him and continued staring at Ashi, his eyes moving to the lighting-bolt scar on his forehead.

“So that’s where . . . I’m sorry to say I sold the wand that did it,” he said softly. 

“Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…Hmmm. Well, now, Mr. Potter. Let me see.” He pulled along tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. “Which is your wand arm?”

Ashi held out his right arm and Mr. Ollivander measured Ashi from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and round his head. Ollivander proceeded to lecture Ashi on the quality of wands as he measured and soon, Ashi realized that the tape was measuring the distance between his nostrils by itself as Ollivander, continuing to lecture, was pulling down boxes from his shelves.

“That will do,” he said, and the tape measure crumpled to the floor. “Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one,” he said and began handing Ashi wand after wand. Ashi gave each wand a wave and it either exploded or was snatched away from him and replaced with another. The pile of unsuitable wands continued to get higher and higher, and Tsume’s temper was getting shorter and shorter, but still, Ashi couldn’t find a wand. Ollivander, however, seemed to become more cheerful with each failed attempt.

They had nearly cleaned out one enormous shelf when Ollivander finally stopped and gave Ashi another long stare. “Tell me, lad,” he said, “would there be anything about you that one would consider unusual, would there?”

Ashi shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m the Boy-Who-Lived, aren’t I? I’d say that’s pretty unusual.”

“Yes, indeed,” said Ollivander quietly and handed Ashi another wand. He snatched it away again before Ashi could do more than grasp it. Ollivander made a noise in his throat before leaving his customer and walking to the back of his shop. Ashi looked at Tsume and Kiba, but they were just as clueless as he was; Hagrid was puzzled as well.

After a few minutes, Ollivander came back with three more wand boxes. He opened the first and pulled out the wand.

“Here. Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple.”

Ashi took it and gave it a wave. Nothing happened, but Ashi could smell a sweet scent enveloping the room. Ollivander took the wand away and placed it back in its box and handed Ashi the next one.

“Oak and Thestral hair. Nine inches. Sturdy.”

Ashi waved it and the room became very cold. Ashi shivered and Ollivander took away the wand. He was handed the last wand as the wand-maker said, “Ebony and werewolf hair. Ten inches, springy.” Ashi tiredly took the wand and swished it. Red and yellow sparks spilled out of the wand tip and Ollivander clapped his hands once.

“Wonderful,” he said, “but curious, very curious.”

“What’s curious?” asked Kiba.

“Well, it’s the first-and last-of its kind. My great-great-grandfather made it years ago, but it’s never chosen a wizard. Minister banned using anything from a werewolf or any other Dark creature after it lacerated three fingers off the last wizard that tried it. Minister declared werewolves to be too feral and savage for anything from them to be made into wands. Would affect the wand itself’s temperament. Well, that’ll be seven Galleons.”

Ashi paid for his wand and he and his friends left the store. Kiba and Tsume carried Ashi’s new trunk full of school supplies between them as Ashi inspected his new wand in one hand and held his owl’s cage in the other and Hagrid followed behind. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon and there were only a few people left hurrying through the streets on their way home.

“Well,” said Hagrid, “best be gittin back to ‘ogwarts now. Eh, ‘ave ye get a place ter stay? I can set ye up with Tom at the Leaky Cauldron if ye like.”

“We’ll be fine,” said Kiba.

“Well, if you’re sure . . .”

Kiba nodded and the group walked on in silence for a while. They passed through the archway entrance of Diagon Alley and entered the wizarding bar. It was nearly empty except for a few tenants who were finishing their suppers and Toboe and Hige. The two wolves were arguing over a couple of empty tumblers. They were not quite drunk-it took quite a lot to get a Paradise wolf drunk-but were tipsy enough to have heated conversation about trivial topics.

“Hey, Kiba,” shouted Hige when he saw them, “would you tell the Runt here—“

“I’m not a runt anymore!” shouted Toboe.

“Sure, you are,” drawled Hige. “You’re the youngest, so you’re a runt.”

“I’m not the youngest anymore. Ashi is.”

“But Ashi’s a Brat, so that makes you the Runt.”

“Enough!” said Tsume. “We’re finally done so let’s go so we can get something to eat.”

Hige perked up at the mention of food. “Now you’re talkin’,” he said. “Let’s get going.”

“Here. It’s your turn to carry this,” said Kiba and handed the heavy trunk to Toboe and Tsume handed his end to Hige.

“Why doesn’t Ashi have to carry it?” whined Hige.

“He’ll have his turn soon,” said Tsume.

Ashi turned to Hagrid and said, “Thank you for helping me with my shopping today.”

“No problem. I’s glad I gots ter meet ya, ‘arry,” said Hagrid with a slight blush. “I guess I’ll see yer at ‘ogwarts.”

Hagrid paused for a second then opened his mouth again to speak when Tsume interrupted and called to the bartender, Tom, who was flicking around his wand to clean his establishment.

“Hey, can we store his trunk somewhere around here?” he asked.

“S-s-store? Harry Potter’s trunk?” asked the dumbfounded bartender. Immediately, the cleaning rags fell limply to the floor, forgotten.

“Yeah. We need somewhere to keep it. Do you know of any place?” asked Tsume.

“Y-you could keep it here if you want,” answered Tom, still amazed that he, bartender of the humble Leaky Cauldron, would have the honor of storing Harry Potter’s trunk for him.

“Great,” said Tsume. “How much?”

“H-how much? Oh. I-it’s on the house.”

“What? We don’t have to pay?”

“Sure. No problem.”

“Okay,” said Tsume, still a little skeptical, but he directed Toboe and Hige to follow the man behind the counter to store the trunk. 

While the rest were busy at the front, Hagrid grabbed Ashi’s arm, not roughly, and pulled him to the door. He leaned down to whisper hoarsely in Ashi’s ear. 

“’arry? You shore ya want ter stay with ‘em?”

Ashi bristled as Hagrid used the name he was now starting to dislike with a passion. “What do you mean?” he asked. “And please call me Ashi.”

Hagrid shifted on his feet a bit as if he were unsure of himself.

“Would ye like ter come back to ‘ogwarts with me now?”

Ashi shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but I would rather stay here and spend the rest of my time with my family.”

“They’re treatin’ yer nice like?”

Ashi had to refrain from snapping his answer to the accusatory question. “Of course. Why wouldn’t they?” he asked venomously. 

Hagrid took a step back and raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. “All right,” he said. “Ah was jus’ makin’ sure.” He paused before continuing. “Yeh know ye disappeared the night yer parents died.”

Ashi realized Hagrid was only making sure he all right, but after the wizards left him on some doorstep in the middle of the night, he didn’t feel like giving Hagrid any sympathy. “Yeah, so what? They found me abandoned in front of somebody’s house and decided to take me in. Anything wrong with that?” he said. 

“Ah guess not,” said Hagrid guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hagrid, I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but I can take care of myself. And I have the rest of my family to help me do it.”

Ashi walked to the bar to join the others, effectively ending the conversation. Hagrid sighed and followed him. Kiba turned around to face the bar as Ashi joined him; he had been watching Ashi and Hagrid as they talked, just to make sure. 

Tom reappeared behind the counter from a back room. A few seconds later, the other three wolves emerged from the same room and walked around to the front of the bar. 

“We’ll be back on the first to pick it up,” said Kiba. He tapped his foot gently against Ashi’s and Ashi said politely, “Thank you very much for letting me keep my trunk here.”

The bartender looked surprised and glanced at Hagrid, who was grinning as if proud, before answering, “N-no problem. It’s my pleasure.”

Ashi nodded and said goodbye to Hagrid before turning on his heel and leading the way out the door.


	9. Hunters

They walked down the street toward the edge of London in silence for a while before Toboe asked, “Hey, Ashi, what’re you going to name your owl?”

Ashi looked at the owl. She had her head under its wing but still had a vigilant eye peeking through the feathers at them. “I don’t know,” he said after thinking a bit. “Any suggestions?”

“Akira,” said Hige.

“It’s a girl, you dimwit,” scoffed Tsume.

“Sakura, then,” answered Hige.

“She doesn’t seem like a pretty flower to me,” said Tsume.

“Well, I don’t hear you suggesting anything,” drawled Hige.

“How about Hikari (light)?” interrupted Toboe before the argument could escalate.

The group continued down the street, each trying to think of a name for Ashi’s new owl. Tsume and Hige began to rattle off names as if competing with each other and Toboe and Kiba interjected every once in awhile with their own suggestions.

“Shiro (white),” said Hige.

“Yuki (snow),” countered Tsume.

“Akemi (bright beauty),” said Kiba.

“I like that one,” said Ashi, staring up at the sky while he thought.

“Tsubasa (wing),” suggested Toboe.

“Too long,” said Hige. “Kaze (wind).”  
“Ami (beauty),” said Tsume.

“What about Sora (sky)?” asked Kiba.

“That one,” said Ashi suddenly, cutting off Tsume before he could give another name. “Her name is Sora.”

“That’s a good one,” said Toboe. “Do you think she’ll come when you call?”

“Not right away, I don’t think,” replied Ashi. “Seems like it would be like any other animal. She has to get used to us first.”

“But she’s a wizard owl,” said Hige. “You’d think they’d be smarter than a regular animal.”

Ashi shrugged, staring at Sora through the bars of her cage; Sora stared right back at him defiantly. “She might be,” answered Ashi, “but she seems too proud to immediately accept me as her master.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to teach her everything she needs to know, so let’s hurry up so we can eat,” said Toboe.

Half an hour later, the wolves had reached the edge of London and entered the forest. The first thing they did was search for a cave for them to stay in for the few weeks before Ashi’s school term started. They found several caves, but none were deep enough to house the five wolves and the owl comfortably. They struck gold on their fifth find. 

A cave about two hours of walking from the edge of the forest fit their needs perfectly. By now it was quite late and, though no one had said anything, Ashi knew they were all hungry; they only had to wait this long because Ashi still had Sora. As quickly as he could, Ashi entered the cave and placed his owl on the highest ledge he could reach so she would be safely out of reach of other predators. He joined the rest of his family back outside and they began their hunt.

 

Hagrid knocked on the tall, oak Hogwarts Headmaster’s office door three times before he heard the soft, “Enter.”

He turned the knob and pushed through into the office. Trinkets and gadgets of all shapes and sizes littered any table or chair in the room. Two tall bookshelves stuffed with books faced each other on opposite sides of the room. Straight in front of Hagrid, on the other end of the office, sat a large desk with a high-backed chair. 

Albus Dumbldore, the graying, old wizard that was Hagrid’s boss, rocked slightly back and forth in the chair studing the papers he was writing on. Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor and Headmaster’s aide, stood next to him with an open book in one hand and pointing to something on the paper Dumbledore was writing on with the other. Minerva glanced up as Hagrid entered as did Albus. The headmaster smiled, put down the quill, and folded his hands.

“Hagrid, my boy,” he said pleasantly. “How did it go?”

Hagrid finished his walk to the desk and shifted on his feet a bit before answering. 

“It was ‘lright,” he said slowly. 

Albus waited a few seconds for Hagrid to continue. When he didn’t, the professor asked excitedly, “Well? What was he like? Did he look well?”

Hagrid nodded. “’e were nice. Very polite. Looked ‘appy ter me.”

Albus nodded, then said darkly, “And his guardians?”

Hagrid shifted again before he answered, “Well, sir. From wat I ‘member from Mrs. Figg. . . well, they changed a bit, but I thinks its ‘em.”

Albus’s eyes narrowed factionally. “Did they show an sign of being werewolves?” he asked.

Hagrid shook his head, almost too vigorously. “No, sir. Perfectly ‘eathly lookin’ and none ov ‘em had yeller eyes.”

Albus smiled again before he continued with his interrogation.”Did you ask him?”

Hagrid nodded. “Ah did. ‘e didn’t seem ter like the idea of comin’ ‘ere any earlier than ‘e needed ter.” He paused a bit before contiunuing, “’e, er, seemed ter resent th’ fact that we left him on a doorstep.”

Albus ground his teeth but kept his temper in check. Before he could say anything, Minerva spoke up. 

“Thank you, Hagrid. I think that’s enough for now.”

Hagrid nodded and hurried back out the door. The Headmaster tensed a bit before he turned to Minerva. She interrupted him again, saying, “Now, Albus. You’ve heard what Hagrid said. The boy is doing perfectly well. He is healthy and unhurt. What else do we need to know?”

Albus pouted a bit, almost like a child before he argued weakly, “But what if they turned him into one of them?”

“What about it, Albus?” asked Minerva evenly. “What would we be able to do about it? Hagrid said all of them were healthy and none had yellow eyes. That means there is a high probability that none of them are werewolves. I’ve never heard of a werewolf that didn’t have yellow eyes.”

“Then what are they?!” asked Albus heatedly.

Minerva sighed. “I don’t know, but rushing over to him and forcefully taking him from the people he’s known for years is not the best way to gain his trust. Nor is forcing him to spend an extra two weeks in a huge, empty, strange castle with the very people he hates for abandoning him after his parents died.”

Albus opened his mouth, but Minerva plowed on, explaining why the point he was just about to make was also a bad idea. 

“And if he looked healthy and happy to Hagrid—you know how guilty he feels about Harry’s disappearance—then we have no right to say his companions are a bad influence on him. Hagrid even said he was rather polite. What normal eleven-year-old child would be polite to someone like Hagrid on their own. Most of them gawk at him and avoid him, thinking he’s some kind of moster.”

Albus sighed. “I suppose you’re right, Minerva.”

Minerva nodded curtely. “Now. Let’s get back to work. I need these schedules finished.”  
____________________________________________________________________________  
The day before Ashi was due to leave for Hogwarts, the pack was scattered among some trees napping after their most recent hunt to digest their meal before they began the long trek back to their cave. Sora had gotten used to the pack and had been allowed to fly on her own. She was hunting for her own dinner now and would soon be returning. In order to keep an eye out for her, Ashi had volunteered to watch. 

Ashi watched Sora as she came winging down through the trees and landed gracefully in front of him. She proudly held up a freshly caught mouse in one of her claws and began tearing at it with her beak. Ashi watched her solemnly for a few minutes before turning his head and searching the forest for any intruders. 

Once Sora was finished with her meal, she flapped her wings a few times and flew to Ashi’s back to rest there. She tucked her head under her wing for her own nap, content in the knowledge that Ashi and the rest of the pack would protect her.

Ashi laid his head down between his paws and was about to close his eyes when he heard the sharp “snap” of a twig just beyond their line of sight. Ashi’s head shot upright and scanned their surroundings. Tsume had also been awakened by the sound and he raised his head slowly. Ashi stood up, jostling Sora who hooted in agitation. Sora’s claws clung tightly to his fur as Ashi began to walk slowly around their group, sniffing for any unfamiliar scents, but the twig snap had been downwind so Ashi didn’t think he would smell anything. Ashi slinked into the woods, hoping to circle around behind whatever was watching them. 

Tsume got up after Ashi had disappeared into the woods and lazily stretched, doing his best to give off the impression of ignorance. He trotted into the woods in the opposite direction of Ashi, growling softly to wake the others as he passed by. Kiba, Hige, and Toboe stayed in the same positions although all three were ready to leap into action at any second.

Ashi continued to silently sneak through the trees. Sora swayed back and forth on his back maintaining her tight grip on his fur. As Ashi approached a spot near where the twig had snapped, he began to smell a strange odor. The scent of humans and gunpowder dampened by the native flora.

Hunters.

But the scent wasn’t concentrated by the twig, it was behind some more bushes a few yards away. Ashi stalked deeper into the forest. He circled around until he was right behind where he thought the hunter was squatting. He took a deep breath to calm his fluttering stomach. In all his years running around as a wolf, he had never actually encountered a hunter; the pack took great care to stay away from humans in the forest. Once he was ready, he began a deep guttural growl, alerting the human to his presence.

The hunter didn’t move, rifle still propped on his shoulder aimed at the place the twig had snapped. Ashi took a step forward, still growling, and deliberately snapped a twig under his paw. Slowly, the rifle was lowered from the man’s shoulder and he twisted his torso to look behind him. He was fairly young although his features were distorted by the camouflage paint smeared on his face. Ashi raised his hackles and, sensing his intent to intimidate, Sora puffed up her feathers to appear larger and hooted angrily at the man who had disturbed her nap.

The man slowly got to his feet, never taking his fear-filled eyes off Ashi and Sora. It was his first time seeing a wolf and it didn’t help that there was also a very large, very angry owl roosting on its back.He was already unnerved by the fact that neither the wolves nor this type of owl was native to this area. To see both here, and together no less, protecting one another, damn near scared him out of his mind with the strangeness. One hand gripped the rifle tightly, although it was now pointed at the ground. The hunter raised his second hand in a “stop” gesture and said “Easy, boy. Take it easy.”

Ashi almost snorted in derision. He was not some common dog to be ordered around. He took another step closer, increasing the volume of his growls and opening his jaw a few inches to reveal his full set of teeth. He tensed his muscles and Ashi suddenly sprang at the man, knocking him onto his back, and grabbed the rifle firmly between his jaws as the hunter held the butt of the rifle in one hand and the muzzle in the other, attempting to keep Ashi’s sharp teeth away from his face. 

Sora launched herself into the air as Ashi jumped and hovered over them, hooting anxiously, trying to involve herself, but finding no opportunity. Ashi jerked his head side to side trying to wrench the rifle from the man but was unsuccessful. In fact, the hunter managed to shove the gun deeper into Ashi’s mouth and push him back a few inches. Ashi choked on the hardware attempting to travel down his throat and reared his head back to try again when he heard the discharge of a second gun.

Pain exploded in his shoulder and he was knocked to the side as a bullet hit him at a ninety-degree angle. Sora launched herself at the new threat and began clawing at the second hunter’s face. Tsume also charged out of the woods at the older man and jumped to wrap his teeth around one of the arms holding the gun. The hunter batted at Sora with the barrel of the gun and the motion left Tsume’s jaws clamping shut with an audible snap on nothing but air. 

“Run, Jack!!” shouted the second hunter as he kicked at Tsume and began running himself.

The first man, Jack, scrambled to his feet and took off into the forest, gun in hand, away from the angry pack of wolves, with the second man hot on his heels. The rest of the pack had leapt up at the sound of the rifle round and Kiba, Toboe, and Tsume charged into the brush after the humans to chase them out of the wolves’ temporary territory while Hige and Sora attended to Ashi.

Ashi lay on the ground stunned for a few seconds, shoulder throbbing and oozing blood, before he attempted to get up. His leg gave out as soon as he put pressure on it, but he managed to roll from his side to his stomach with his feet tucked under him. Sora circled above his head, hooting curiously, and Hige, who had shifted into his human form, knelt by Ashi’s side to examine the wound. His hands pressed gently around the hole in Ashi’s shoulder and Ashi’ couldn’t help but whimper, then growl, at the sudden burst of pain.

“He got you pretty good, Ashi,” said Hige. “This might have shattered your joint if it were just a hair lower.”

Ashi huffed, clenching his teeth against the pain. Hige reached over Ashi’s back and felt around his other shoulder.

“Doesn’t look like there’s an exit wound,” said Hige.

“Oh?” panted Ashi. “What does that mean?”

“It means I have to pull the bullet out.” Hige shrugged. “This is going to hurt, but we’d better do it now before the lead gets into your bloodstream.”

“Fine. Do it.” Ashi gritted his teeth.

“Okaay. 1. . 2. .” 

Ashi let out a long howl as Hige plunged his claws into the wound.

____________________________________________________________________________  
Jack and his father ran through the woods as fast as they could, panting hard. Jack could hear the wolves’ paws thudding against the ground behind them and he pumped his legs even faster.

Why did he have to agree with his father to come hunting today? Grace had only just had the baby and he wanted to spend time with them. But no-o-o. Dad said “You’ll have twenty years to spend time with them, but I haven’t seen you at all this year. Let’s go have some fun together. Who knows when you’ll be back.”

Jack had only been hunting two other times, but both times he had caught a fairly good-sized bull elk. He didn’t particularly like to hunt, but his previous successes made his father even more excited to go. But when they had spotted wolf tracks, they just had to go see where they were. Then, his father suggested they should have a wolf pelt to wrap the baby in when they got home. James, being the shy, semi-confident guy he was, could not argue against his father, being the stubborn, loud, over-confident guy he was.

His father, Harold, had reasoned that because the wolves had just eaten(they had discovered the fresh carcass of a deer not far from the wolves), they would be sleepy and slow, so this was the best time to hunt them. They wouldn’t be able to take on, let alone take home, all five wolves, so they had set a trap for one. They had snapped a twig and waited in some bushes a few yards away. When the wolf came to investigate, James would have plenty of time to aim and fire. What they didn’t count on was the wolf being so smart.

Neither man had expected the wolf to appear behind Jack, so Jack had done the only thing his scared, cluttered mind had thought of: he treated it like a dog. Now that he thought about it, that was a stupid idea. Like the wolf would have been around humans enough to have learned any commands. Now they were running for their lives through the dense forest with no idea where they were.

One of the wolves snapped at his heels and Jack begged his tired muscles to go faster. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the brown wolf leap up and snap at his father’s elbow, but miss, and Harold retaliated with a swing of his rifle at the wolf’s head. Jack felt a rush of air and a tug on his own leg and looked down. The white wolf had come up beside him and had torn the entire calf of his pant leg off, exposing the bare skin and leaving the rest of the piece of clothing flapping everywhere. Jack swung his own gun at the wolf, but missed and nearly lost his grip on the weapon.

Jack took another step and felt his foot fall through the air longer than it had before. He expected it to hit the ground and jar his body, but it never stopped falling. Jack’s mind slowed down as his arms reached out to catch himself and the ground rushed up to greet his face. ”This is it,” he thought. “I’m going to die.” But instead of skidding to a halt on twigs and leaves and feeling razor-sharp teeth tear into his flesh, Jack turned sideways and he tumbled down the rest of the hill.

He felt every pebble and rock and branch he rolled over and knew his side would have massive bruising the next day…if he survived that long. After what felt like an eternity, Jack finally came to a sudden halt against the trunk of a tree, hitting his head hard against the dense bark. Stars swam before his eyes and he tried to look up and gain his bearings.

Dimly, he could see the three wolves still at the top of the steep hill, staring down at him. His father appeared at his side and began to drag James’s limp body up and over his shoulder.

“Come on, Boy,” he said, “we gotta go.”

Jack’s legs felt like jelly as he tried to get up, still staring blankly at the wolves. Even through his muddled mind, Jack thought that the wolves were acting strangely. They should have continued after them down the hill since it wasn’t too steep for them. Instead, they were just staring at the men; the white wolf was standing on a rock in the classic alpha pose while the grey bared his teeth slightly and the brown panted a bit.

Harold tugged harder on Jack’s arm and he tried to take a step on his own feet but collapsed back onto his father’s shoulder. Slowly, they made their way away from the wolves, who were still silently watching them, and hopefully back toward civilization. They hadn’t moved more than ten yards away from the base of the hill when they heard a distant howl pierce the air. A few seconds later, the three wolves that had chased them lifted their voices to join the first.

James turned to look over his father’s shoulder. As he watched the wolves howling, he realized that, even though he had been running for his life from them not one minute ago, they were still some of the most spectacular creatures he had ever seen.

____________________________________________________________________________  
“Damn it!” shouted Hige. “I can’t find it.”

He was still digging around in Ashi’s shoulder for the bullet, but Sora was screeching at him and pulling at his hair, angry that he was hurting her master even more. Hige batted at her with his free hand.

“Stupid bird. Ashi, tell her to go away,” he said.

“She. . . won’t. . . listen,” Ashi gasped out through gritted teeth.

Finally, Hige gave a triumphant “Ah ha” and pulled his fingers out of Ashi’s wound. Just then, Kiba, Tsume, and Toboe trotted back into view and Hige turned to them, showing off the bullet he had pulled from Ashi’s shoulder.

“Took you long enough,” said Ashi to Hige. Hige shrugged. 

“It’s not my fault,” he said. “They used those hollow point bullets. They're smaller than normal ones and harder to find. Hard to get out too because they turn into flowers once they hit their target.”

“Then why couldn't you leave it in? It would have fallen out eventually, right?” asked Ashi as he stood up and stretched, favoring his wounded leg. Sora winged down through the air and landed on Ashi’s back, picking at the fur on his neck affectionately.

“In the middle of your class, no doubt. Don’t forget you leave tomorrow,” said Tsume. 

“Yeah,” put in Toboe. “Remember what the centaurs told us about how biased wizards are about creatures other than humans? We'd have the entire wizarding world searching for us if you get found out.”

“I'd just say I found it somewhere and it fell out of my pocket.”

“All bloody?” asked Hige. 

Ashi was silent. He couldn't think of anything to say to that.

“And if you showed up at school with a gaping hole in your shoulder, someone's bound to start asking questions. There's a full moon tonight so make sure to heal it,” said Kiba as he led the way back to their cave for the night.

When they reached the cave, the wolves curled around each other, with Ashi and Sora in the middle, in the clearing just in front of the cave, where the moonlight would be strongest.


	10. The Train Ride

The next morning, the pack made a quick breakfast of a few rabbits and started toward London. The city was about fifteen miles from their cave, but the wolves had eaten well the previous day and the meal and the moonlight gave them enough energy to make the journey in a little more than half an hour. They were rather early; it was only around 8:30. 

This turned out to be a good thing, however, for after they retrieved Ashi’s trunk from the Leaky Cauldron and coaxed Sora back into her cage (she glared at them for the rest of the day), they realized that none of them knew where the station was. They wandered around a bit before Toboe finally convinced them to ask for directions. They finally reached King’s Cross after asking four different people, only to discover a new problem: there was no Platform 9 ¾. The official whom they asked only looked at them funnily and muttered something under his breath that sounded like, “Damn kids playing jokes,” before stomping off to catch his own train. 

“Well, that was helpful,” said Hige.

“Don't forget we're taking looking for a wizarding train,” said Toboe. “We could barely find out where the general location of this school was and we almost didn’t find that tavern. I doubt they'll just have the train sitting out in the open for all the non-magical people to gawk at.”

“Obviously 9 ¾ isn't talking about floors, so it must be between platforms 9 and 10. Let's spread out between them and keep an eye out for anything unusual,” suggested Kiba.

The pack broke up and spread themselves as evenly as they could with such a large crowd and waited. Ashi picked a spot next to a clock and nervously watched the minute hand tick closer and closer to the train’s departure time. He was about to go look for the others so they could come up with a new plan when Tsume suddenly appeared behind him and pointed silently to a family coming toward them.

At first glance, the family looked like all the others, although it had a few more children than usual. There was a frazzled, redheaded mother trying to herd five children, all with the same flaming red hair and each with their own luggage cart, through the crowd. The eldest boy calmly followed his mother while two twins pushed and teased each other and the last boy. A little girl clung to her mother’s hand in front of them all. 

Ashi was about to turn to Tsume and ask why they were so special when he noticed that there was an owl on one of the carts. He wouldn't call himself an expert in human habits, but he didn't think it was a common practice to have a pet owl. 

He and Tsume waited and watched as the family pushed their way through the scads of people in the train station toward the wolves. They edged closer to eavesdrop over the din of the crowd.

“--Always packed with Muggles,” the woman was saying. “Ron, watch your cart!”

The youngest boy had turned his luggage cart sharply to avoid running into a little girl but had nearly dropped all three suitcases on her. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“Alright. Here we are,” said the mother. The group had stopped right in the middle of Platforms 9 and 10. “Percy, you go first.”

The eldest boy marched toward Platform 10 and Ashi and Tsume watched him, but just as he was reaching the pillar before Platform 10, a large woman shoved Ashi out of the way and he fell over into Tsume. By the time they had regained their feet (which was pretty quickly, all things considering), the boy had disappeared. They continued watching as the mother sent one of the twins. This time they were watching carefully, but the boy still managed to disappear. 

Ashi began pushing his cart toward the remaining four people, Tsume walking beside him, but a large group of tourists shuffled in front of him and when he finally emerged on the other side, the second twin had disappeared. He walked even faster, hoping to reach them before any more people vanished. 

“Excuse me,” said Ashi. “Are you going to the Hogwarts train?”

“Hello, dears,” she said. “Yes, we are. First time? Ron’s new too.”

The last boy, the one who had nearly tipped his cart, waved shyly at them. He was tall and thin and covered in freckles. 

“Yes,” said Ashi, “but I don’t know how to--”

“Get on the platform?” she finished for him. Ashi nodded. 

“All you have to do is walk straight toward that barrier,” she pointed to the pillar in front of them,” Don’t worry about crashing into it, or else you will. Try running at it a bit the first time. Go ahead, in front of Ron.”

Ashi thanked her, then turned his cart toward the pillar. He eyed it suspiciously; he would look very foolish if this wasn’t the real way to get to his train. He took a deep breath, glanced at Tsume from the corner of his eye, then began running toward the pillar. He needn’t have worried, though, for he passed smoothly through the brick wall into the other side. 

The first thing he saw was the gleaming, scarlet train engine with passenger cars trailing behind it. A sign above the platform proclaimed it to be the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾. There were hundreds of people on the platform. Most of them were parents were waving to their children already on the train or giving tearful hugs and kisses just before sending them off. Ashi slowly pushed his cart forward through the crowd toward the train, unsure of what to do. 

Tsume appeared behind Ashi, strolling calmly through the wall. Toboe and Hige had chosen to run at the barrier, but Hige didn’t give Toboe enough time to get out of the way before he came barreling through. Ten seconds after Ashi had come through the barrier, Toboe and Hige had tumbled over each other and fell, yelling loudly, into Tsume, who turned at the last second to see what all the noise was about.  
Tsume groaned and rubbed the back of his head where he had banged it. Kiba stepped over them as he came through the wall and serenely suggested they get out of the way before the last of the redheads came running through. 

Tsume shoved Hige and Toboe off him and stood up, leading the way to the train with a tsk. Ashi grinned down at Toboe and Hige before following Tsume toward the back of the train where it was less crowded. Owls flew overhead and cats slunk between their legs as they pushed their way through the crowd. Ashi even heard a toad ribbiting and hopping somewhere to his right. 

When they reached the doorway of the last train car, Ashi grabbed Sora’s cage off the top of the luggage cart and Tsume and Hige each took an end of the trunk. They followed Ashi into one of the empty compartments and shoved the trunk under one of the seats. Ashi put down Sora’s cage on the floor in front of it and she hooted softly at him before tucking her head under her wing. 

They all stood awkwardly in the hallway just in front of the car door; none of them had ever had to say goodbye to each other before and they didn’t really want to follow the examples outside. Finally, Tsume clapped Ashi on the shoulder and said,” See you, Brat,” and walked down the steps of the car. 

“We’ll be following along,” said Hige, smiling and raising a hand in farewell, before following Tsume back the platform. Kiba gave a quiet nod to Ashi and Toboe pressed something cold into Ashi’s palm before patting him on the shoulder and jumping down the steps to the platform. 

“Bye,” said Ashi, waving to them from the steps before making his way back to his compartment. He sat down at the window and looked at the object Toboe had given him. One of Toboe’s silver bangles glinted in the artificial light and Ashi held it up to study it. The bangles were Toboe’s most prized possessions and he would not have parted with them easily. It was chipped and scratched, but in pretty good condition for its age. Ashi slipped the bangle on his left wrist just as the youngest redhead boy opened the door of the compartment.

“Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full,” he said, pointing to the seat opposite Ashi. Ashi highly doubted that as the rest of the car was almost completely silent, but he shook his head and the boy sat down. Ashi looked out the window at the platform, trying to spot his pack. The two sat in silence for a minute, both staring out the window before the redheaded twins poked their heads in. 

“Hey, Ron. Listen we’re going to the middle of the train. Lee Jordan’s got a giant tarantula down there.”

“Right,” mumbled Ron. 

The twins looked at Ashi and said, “Take care of ickle Ronniekins for us, ‘kay.”

“Hey!” shouted Ron, jumping up from his seat. The twins left laughing. 

“Sorry about that,” said Ron.

“It’s alright,” said Ashi. 

“I’m Ron Weasley and they were Fred and George, my brothers.”

“Ashi.”

“Cool name. Foreign?”

Ashi shrugged. “Never stayed in one place long enough to consider myself a citizen.”

“Oh,” said Ron and awkwardly looked out the window. 

A few minutes later, the train car jerked as they began their journey to Hogwarts. Ashi looked back out the window as well and watched all the people stream by. 

As the train picked up speed and they neared the other end of the platform, Ashi began to see people outside pointing at something behind the train. Apparently, Ron and every other student noticed as well and they began to see kids filing down the corridor to see what it was. Ashi had a good guess, but he followed Ron out the door to see what it was. 

He squeezed past the small crowd gathered at the back door so he could see. There, four wolves-one white, one silver, one tan, and one brown-ran down the middle of the tracks, chasing the train. Apparently, all the parents on the platform forgot they could use magic because they pointed and stared, but didn’t do anything to stop the wolves. 

Soon the train left the station completely and the wolves separated, two to the right and two to the left. They kept up with the train for a while before falling slowly behind. As the students gradually lost sight of the wolves, they began to disperse, chattering about the “big dogs.” Ashi went back to his compartment-Ron had left earlier-with a small smile on his face.

As he slid open the compartment door and sat down, Ron glanced at him from his seat and said excitedly, “Did you see those dogs?”

“Yeah, but--” said Ashi. Ron cut him off.

“That was pretty cool, huh. I bet Fred and George had something to do with that, though. Trying to scare me and the other first years by casting a spell on them or something. They won’t tell me anything about Hogwarts, not even what we have to do when we’re sorted. They told me we would have to wrestle a troll, but I don’t believe that, do you?”

“I don’t know. Might be true, might not be. But I don’t think they’d make us do anything dangerous or our parents would never let us go.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Ron. “I hope we don’t have to do spells though, cause I’ve never done any. Except for the accidental stuff. Fred and George taught me one though. Want to see?”

Ashi hmm’d in a noncommittal way and Ron pulled out his wand, which was really more of an old bent twig, and a sleeping rat from his pocket. 

“This is Scabbers,” said Ron, pointing to the rat. “He’s been in the family for years. I got him because Percy got a new owl. I didn’t get one because Mum and Dad couldn’t afford--I mean I didn’t really want one.” 

Ashi nodded, not really caring that Ron’s family was too poor to buy him a new pet. Ron shifted nervously for a few seconds before he remembered the spell and opened his mouth the recite it. The door slid open again before he could begin, however, and a bushy-haired girl their age stuck her head in and said, “Have you guys seen a toad? Neville’s lost his. Oh, are you performing magic?”

Ron shut his mouth and looked at Ashi. “Well,” he said. 

“Oh, go on. Let’s see it.” said the girl enthusiastically, but rather bossily. 

“Ok,” said Ron and he pointed his wand at Scabbers. 

“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,  
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.”

He waved his wand over the rat, but nothing happened. The rat continued to sleep. 

“Are you sure that’s a real spell?” asked the girl, then continued very quickly. “It’s not very good, is it? I’ve tried a few spells for practice and they’ve all worked for me. Nobody in my family has magic at all so it was quite a surprise when I got my letter. I’ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope that will be enough. I’m Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you?”

Ashi was startled for a moment when heard her mention memorizing the books. Of course, he had thumbed through them and read a few pages, but there was no way he was going to waste his time reading, much less memorizing, something he would have to reread throughout the coming year. He wouldn’t have had time to anyway. He sneaked a glance at Ron and was rather pleased when he saw that Ron’s face had paled quite a bit at Hermione’s statement. 

“I-I’m Ron Weasley,” he muttered.

“Ashi,” said Ashi. 

“Is that Japanese? My family went to Japan once. I got to learn some of the language. It means paw, right? Seems kind of weird for your parents to name you after a part of an animal.”

“Is that so,” asked Ashi, uninterested and becoming rather annoyed by her prattling. He tuned her out when she began talking about the different Houses and started thinking about what school would be like. He had never been to a school before, but he had learned all the basics such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. He had read descriptions of normal schools and even watched through the window of a random classroom in Germany once. He wondered if this school would be anything like that.

He was snapped out of his thoughts abruptly when the compartment door slammed shut and he looked up to see the girl was gone. Ron sighed in relief. 

“Whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s not in it,” he said. 

“Hnn,” said Ashi.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Ron tried to strike up another conversation. 

“What house do you think you’ll be in?” he asked.

“They all sound alright to me,” said Ashi, shrugging.

Ron gaped at him. “Even Slytherin?! I wouldn’t want to be there. All the nasty ones go there. I heard that was the house You-Know-Who was in and it’s spat out a whole lot of Dark Wizards. I bet my parents would disown me if I were put in Slytherin.”

“What House do you think you’ll be in, then?” asked Ashi. 

“Well, all the rest of my family was in Gryffindor, so I expect I’ll go there. I might not though because that’s where all the brave people go and I don’t think I’m very brave.”

“Courage and bravery come in many forms.”

“Yeah? Maybe I will get in, then.”

“Hnn,” said Ashi. He was rather tired now and wanted to take a nap. Ashi never got his nap though, for about ten minutes later, the snack trolley came along. He bought a few Chocolate Frogs and a box of Every-Flavor-Jelly-Beans. Ron mumbled something about having sandwiches. 

Ashi threw the Jelly Beans into his trunk for later and opened the Chocolate Frogs. The collectable cards inside held pictures of Albus Dumbledore, Morgana, and Victor Krum. Ron got excited when he saw the last card and began chattering about Quidditch. 

Hey, do you play Quidditch? What’s your team?” 

Ashi shook his head. “I don’t have a team,” he said. Ron gaped. 

“You don’t have a team? Do you even know what Quidditch is?” he asked.

“I know the basics of Quidditch. I’m just not around the wizarding community enough to know specifics,” Ashi said, shrugging. 

He really didn’t understand why sports were so important to humans anyway. It was a form of entertainment, and when you spend your whole life wondering where your next meal is going to come from or where you’re going to spend the night, you tend to disregard such petty pleasantries as entertainment. But Ashi thought it best not to mention any of these things as Ron seemed very pleased to discuss Quidditch and Toboe had told him that to be considered a normal human, he would have to make some friends. Ron seemed to be the kind of person who would become friends with anyone that would talk—or even listen—to him about Quidditch.

Ron didn’t seem to notice Ashi’s statement about knowing the basics and started rattling off everything he knew about Quidditch. Ashi listened halfheartedly, nodding and saying, “Really?” and, “Hmm,” every once in a while as politeness dictated. 

Not soon enough, the sun began to sink beneath the horizon and a loudspeaker crackled to life and announced they would be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. It advised the students to change into their robes and leave their luggage on the train; it would be brought inside later. The boys quickly pulled out their long school robes from their trunks and wrestled them over their heads. Sora was awakened by the jostling of the trunks and hooted pleadingly at Ashi to let her out. Ashi shook his head at her, mouthing a silent apology, and turned away from her. Sora pulled in her head in a sulky position and glared at the back of his head through the bars of her cage. 

Ashi and Ron sat back down in their respective seats and looked eagerly out the window to catch a glimpse of Hogwarts. It was no use though, for it was pitch black outside, Ashi would have been able to see fairly well but a layer of fog also blanketed the forest they were passing through. If it was as thick as he thought it was, there was no way either of them would see more than twenty feet in front of them, even if it had been in daylight. 

The train began to slow and finally screeched to a halt. The boys looked at each other for a moment, wondering what to do, when a sudden rush of noise flooded the train. Compartment doors slammed open and loud voices and thudding feet filled the hallway. Ashi looked out the window at the platform and watched the students file onto the station platform. The noise outside their compartment lessened and Ashi stood up. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned toothily. 

“Well,” he said to Ron, who was staring nervously out the window. “Shall we go?”  
“What? Oh. Yeah,” said Ron and he also stood up.


	11. Hogwarts

The two boys joined the last few people in the hallway on their way to disembark. As he stepped off the last stair, Ashi heard a booming voice yelling,” Firs’ years! Firs’ years! Over ‘ere!” Ashi looked around and saw Hagrid standing off on one end of the platform holding up a lantern in one hand and cupping the other around his mouth while he repeated his call. A group of scared-looking children was huddled around him. Ashi walked toward Hagrid, completely forgetting Ron, who was struggling to push through the crowd to keep up. 

“Hi, Hagrid,” said Ashi.

“Oh. ‘ello ‘arr—ah—Ashi,” said Hagrid, obviously straining to remember which name to call the boy by. “Anymore firs’ years? Right then. Foller me.”

Hagrid led the group down a dark, steep path to a dock with several small boats moored to it. Ashi climbed into one of them with Ron and another two boys and sat down near the front. Once they were all in, Hagrid commanded the boats to move and they were off, drifting through the blackness of the lake with only the lanterns at the bows of each of their boats indicate where they were going. Nothing happened for a while and Ashi began to wonder how the older students got to the school and whether the first years went to a different building than the rest when they rounded a bend and Ashi heard several awed ‘Whoa’s behind him. 

He looked up to see the biggest castle he had ever seen. It was even bigger than the ones he had seen in France, and certainly in much better condition. Several towers rose into the air to touch the stars and lights glinted from nearly every window. It was spectacular.

Ashi continued to stare at the castle as they drifted toward it in the boats, but was distracted when he heard a soft splash not too far away from them. He peered into the darkness and saw ripples in the water coming closer to the boats. It was too dark even for Ashi to see what exactly was stalking them. As the ripples entered the circle of light cast by the boat’s lantern, Ashi began to hear the other boys whispering behind him. He kept his eyes on the water.

As the ripples neared the boat, they grew smaller, nearly disappearing due to the slowness of their approach. Ashi felt something hit the boat gently and the three boys behind him each gave a little cry of surprise as they clenched the sides of the boat. Ashi leaned out over water and looked in. He saw nothing at first, but then he noticed a great eye staring back up at him; it was at least five inches in diameter. Ashi wasn’t too versed in the magical portion of the animal kingdom, but he knew there were only so many animals that lived in water that had eyes that big so he wasn’t too surprised when a huge tentacle came slithering slowly out of the water toward him.

Ashi leaned back into the boat and looked at the giant squid’s tentacle, which swayed slightly in front of him. Tentatively, he reached out a hand and touched the side of the tentacle without suction cups. Even though it was only the tip of the tentacle, it was so big his fingers wouldn’t have been able to touch each other if he had grasped it. It was surprisingly soft and felt rubbery and cold. Ashi could feel the muscles churning beneath his touch and the blood being pumped just beneath the skin. Ashi smiled and reached to touch one of the cups on the opposite side. They pulsed and wriggled beneath his finger. 

The tentacle reached back a little and the very tip touched Ashi’s face, exploring him as he explored it. It started at Ashi’s temple just below his hairline and dragged the tip gently down his cheek, then reached back up to navigate through Ashi’s hair. This would have been a rather awkward and disgusting experience for anyone else, but Ashi was quite comfortable with the squid’s actions. It felt like the gentle caress of a loving mother and he felt no animosity, nor harmful intent from the creature.

“AAAHHHH!”

The tentacle went rigid and sank quickly back into the water with a plop. Ashi watched the eye blink once before it sank below the boat and out of sight. He looked back to glare at whoever had screamed. He had started with the occupants of the other boats because the scream sounded like a girl’s but had to try very hard not to grin when he realized that the one who had screamed was Ron. 

“D-d-did you s-s-ee that?” asked Ron with a squeaky voice, pointing at Ashi.

The two other boys in the boat both stared open-mouthed at Ashi and one slowly nodded. The other students had apparently missed all the action though because Ashi heard shouts of “What? What happened?” from behind them. Ashi glared hard at Ron before turning back to the front of the boat and sat down again. He had lost interest in the castle now and wanted to hurry up and get there.

It was another few minutes before they reached the other end of the lake and disembarked on its banks. Ashi now found himself relatively alone in the crowd of students. Ron stood a few feet away, but instead of chatting animatedly with Ashi about the castle as others were, he only glanced nervously at him every few seconds. The group followed Hagrid up the steps to the castle doors. They creaked open after Hagrid knocked and they were greeted by the face of a tall, stern-looking witch. Hagrid handed the first years off to the witch, whom he addressed as Professor McGonagall, and the children followed her down the torch-lit, stone hallway. 

She led them into a small room and Ashi could hear the chattering of many voices on the other side of one wall. Apparently, the rest of the school was already here and were waiting for them. Time for the Sorting. Professor McGonagall explained the Houses and the rules for the children, then left the chamber. The children around Ashi began muttering about how the Sorting would be done. Several of them suggested a paper test and he heard Ron mention the bit about wrestling a troll to his new friends. Ashi had already explained why Ron’s suggestion was rubbish and, while the paper test was more likely, there would be several children from non-wizarding families to be sorted and the chance that any of them would have any clue about magic at this moment was almost nonexistent. 

Ashi was starting to get impatient again, when a group of ghosts wafted in through the back wall, causing a few of the girls to shriek. The ghosts were arguing about something and completely ignored the children until one ghost shouted, “New students!” and said a few praiseful words about his old House, Hufflepuff, to them. Professor McGonagall came back to the chamber, interrupting the chattering ghosts. They grumbled a bit, but left quickly, drifting straight through the first years. When they passed in front of Ashi, however, several of them tipped their hats or bobbed their heads at him and smiled. Ashi nodded back, wondering why he was getting so much attention. First the squid and now the ghosts. 

Professor McGonagall instructed them to form a line and led them out into the Great Hall. It was so big, Ashi could barely see the other end. He couldn’t see the ceiling at all because of the spell decorating it like the night sky and the hundreds of candles floating in the air. The students sat at tables as long as the Hall. At the head of the hall, a significantly shorter table at which the teachers sat was set perpendicular to the others. The tables were littered with golden goblets and plates and each table had several flags of varying colors hanging over them. 

McGonagall stopped the first years in front of the head table and softly placed a stool in the middle of the line. She pulled out an old, extremely dirty and tattered wizard’s hat and placed it on the stool. She stepped back and nothing happened for a few seconds. Then, the hat began to sing. Nearly half the song was about how important the hat itself was, then it changed gears and sang about the four houses. Ashi didn’t see why the song was necessary, but the whole hall burst into applause after it finished. McGonagall stepped forward again and explained the Sorting Process then began to call names in alphabetical order. 

The first few when to Hufflepuff, then some to Ravenclaw, one or two to Gryffindor, and one or two to Slytherin. Sometimes the hat shouted out the house at once, other times it took a while to decide. Hermione Granger and the boy who lost his toad both went to Gryffindor. It seemed to take forever before Ashi’s name was called. He almost missed it because McGonagall didn’t call the name he was used to.

“Potter, Harry!”

He stepped forward to the stool and immediately heard the students begin to whisper.

“Harry Potter?” 

“Did she say ‘Potter’?”

“Is it really him?”

He saw several of them rise from their seats to get a better look at him as he sat down, but then his vision was blocked by the brim of the hat. The world went silent as the hat dropped over his ears and Ashi started to hope he would be able to visit the hat more often to escape from the torrents of noise his sensitive ears always picked up. He heard a soft chuckle when he finished his thought. 

“No, my boy. I don’t think we will see each other after this.”

Ashi nearly cried out. The hat could read his mind!

“Yes, I can read your mind. How else would I be able to sort you into the right house?”

Ashi had to admit the hat made a valid point.

“Now, let’s see. Hmm. Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage. Not too shabby at being cunning. Very smart.”

Ashi didn’t really care where he went.

“Now, dear boy. This decision could affect your entire life and how the others treat you. You would fit in very well in any of the houses, but with your future, it would be best you had the most influence you could possibly have. Yours is a very hard path to travel, but if you find some friends, the road will be smoother. These children are eager to learn and even more eager to form bonds, not out of obligation, but out of a true desire to know you. Do not push them away, dear boy, and wait until the moment is right to show them your true self. They are quick to judge, but once you pass their tests, they will never let you down. Prove yourself to be faithful and good while you are in SLYTHERIN!”


	12. Slytherin

Ashi heard the hat shout the last word to the entire hall. He sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds. He wanted to interrogate the hat more about this “difficult future” of his, but Professor McGonagall yanked the hat off his head and sent him to the table with the silver and green flags amidst a completely silent hall. 

As he walked between the Slytherin table and Hufflepuff table looking for a seat, he heard whispers begin to float along the hall. Most would have been too quiet for him to hear if he were a human, but he was a wolf. Many of the whispers were very unflattering; something about him having gone dark. Ashi found a seat between two older Slytherins and across from the blond boy from the robes shop.

The boys stared at him for a few seconds before the blond one spoke up. “You didn’t tell me you were Harry Potter,” he said.

“I’m not. I’m Ashi and you didn’t ask,” replied Ashi. The boy stared at him some more. “They just said you’re Harry Potter.”

Ashi shrugged. “That’s the name they call me. But they don’t know anything about me. I’m Ashi. Don’t call me anything else.”

The boy folded his arms and said, “I thought you were supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world. That means you belong to the Light side. What are you doing here?”

Ashi shrugged again. “Hat said I would have the most influence here.”

“Hah,” laughed the boy sarcastically. “You won’t have any influence now that you’re here.”

Ashi placed his elbow on the table and his head in his hand. “You always have influence. Doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, who you’re with, or where you are. By the way, you haven’t told me what your name is.”

“Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.”

“Well, Draco, nice to meet you.” He had decided to give Draco a second chance at a first impression. After all, Draco could have been spouting all that nonsense just to impress someone who was also new to Hogwarts. 

They didn’t get a chance to say anything more, for Dumbledore had gotten up from his seat and stood with arms open wide and a big grin on his face. Ashi noticed that while he gave the impression of cheerfulness, the headmaster was deathly pale and his hands were shaking just a bit. 

“Welcome,” he said, “to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!”

He sat back down amidst more clapping and cheering. Ashi was now a bit worried about this school if its headmaster’s first speech consisted of thirty words, the main four of which had absolutely nothing to do with wizardry or welcoming. Not to mention the man looked like he would keel over at any second.

Food appeared on the tables and the students reached heartily for various dishes. Ashi stared blankly at all of the cooked food scattered around the table in front of him. While he could eat cooked food, it was not very healthy nor delicious. He had eaten the previous day which should have lasted him at least a day or two more, but now that he was going to put something like that into his stomach three times a day in order to maintain his human façade, that time frame would shorten considerably.

Ashi scrunched his nose a bit and reached for some roast duck and a bit of fruit. Several of his neighbors gave him funny looks at how little food was on his plate. A girl a few seats down from him gathered enough courage and asked him if he always ate so sparingly. 

He nodded at her and replied, “Never had much of an appetite.” They left him alone after that. 

The rest of dinner was rather uneventful, although the Bloody Baron made an appearance and shook his chains in several of the first years’ faces. Ashi finished his meal quickly and spent the rest of the time listening to the other Slytherins’ conversations, fingering Toboe’s bangle idly on his wrist. Most of the older students were talking about how many mudbloods and blood traitors there were in Hogwarts. Ashi hadn’t the faintest idea what they were talking about, but it didn’t sound like they were complementing the other students. 

He quickly grew tired of such talk and started to listen to what the other first years were saying. It seemed Draco and a girl next to him were having a competition to see who could name the most extravagant possession they had. The boy next to Draco, Blaise Zabini, the last one to be sorted, was talking to girl on his other side about the types of spells they would learn and the bit of magic each of their parents had taught them. 

Surprisingly, no one spoke to Ashi. It seemed they were all eager to know why the Golden Boy had been sorted into the house that had produced more dark wizards than any other, but none were brave enough to try. If the savior of the wizarding world, famous Light wizard Harry Potter had actually been sorted into the Darkest House in Hogwarts, he must be the nastiest person on the planet. 

Ashi himself had almost no clue why he was a Slytherin, besides what the hat had told him, so he was perfectly happy with the silent treatment because he knew most of his Housemates would abandon him as soon as they found out what the hat said.

Once all desserts had been finished, the food and plates disappeared and Dumbledore stood up to speak, looking only a little bit less pale and shaky than he had before. 

“Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few announcements to make. First years, as well as a few others, should note that the forest is forbidden to all students.”

Ashi saw Dumbledore sneak a peek at the Gryffindor table and caught Ron’s twin brothers grinning. Ashi ignored that warning as he knew he would be able to protect himself just fine against anything in that forest. Not to mention that was where his family was going to live during the school year.

“Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has also asked me to remind you that no magic is allowed to be used in the corridors between classes. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Contact Madam Hooch if you are interested in playing for your House. And finally, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.”

Ashi lifted one of his eyebrows and began wondering whether it would be wiser to heed the headmaster’s warning or to go see what kind of danger would be living with him for nine months. A few chuckles reverberated around the room from people who thought Dumbledore was joking. 

“That’s odd,” said one of the older boys next to Ashi. “He usually gives us a reason to avoid some place.” 

Another boy down the table laughed quietly. “It’s probably just a ruse to scare the first years,” he said.

Ashi doubted that was the case and decided he would go see what was there in a day or two to see what exactly he would be living with for the winter.

“And now,” continued Dumbledore, pulling out his wand and holding it like a conductor’s baton, “let us sing the school song!” He flicked the wand and a golden ribbon flew out the end and formed the words of the song. Everyone, except Ashi and quite a few of the other Slytherins, picked their favorite tune and sang. They all finished at different times; the Weasley twins finished last as they were singing to a very slow funeral march. 

Dumbledore sent them off to bed and Ashi and the other Slytherins followed each other through the halls. They turned several corners and down many stairs to the dungeons; the air became colder the farther down they traveled. Finally, they stopped at what looked for all the world like a normal dungeon wall. Everyone became quiet as they waited for something to happen. At the front of the group, one of the older boys said loudly, “Pureblood,” and the wall shifted and a plain wooden door with an ornate handle and pair of hinges appeared on the wall.

Ashi strode through the opening to find a rather cozy common room lit by silver lanterns. It had several couches and armchairs scattered around as well as quite a few tables. A large fire in one wall kept the entire area toasty warm. On the wall next to the fire was a set of windows. At first, Ashi thought they were normal windows that looked out to some area of the grounds. As he watched, a school of fish swam by and he realized that they looked out at the Lake.

“Boys’ dormitory on the right, Girls’ to the left. Bathrooms down that corridor. This board will have any upcoming events as well as new passwords for the House. Passwords change monthly. Before you leave, our Head of House would like to say a few words.”

Ashi turned to watch the boy who had shouted the password pointing down various corridors as he dictated instructions. As he finished his speech, the boy stepped to the side and a tall, thin man with black hair and a sharp nose stood, frowning, before them.

“Welcome, Slytherins,” he said. “I shall get straight to the point. I don’t care what petty quarrels you have amongst yourselves as long as you keep them within this common room. When we appear before the other Houses, we will remain united.”

He paused for a moment and cast his gaze over the group before continuing, “That includes Potter.” Immediately, all eyes turned to Ashi. He felt several heated glares on his back as he raised his chin and said as politely as he could, “If you would, Sir, my name is not Potter.”

Professor Snape sneered at him as did several of the other Slytherins. “Oh? Is that so? What shall we call you then?” asked Snape.

“Simply Ashi will do,” replied Ashi, trying not to look or sound naïve as he did so. He knew there wouldn’t be very many who would call him by his preferred name. He had also noticed that professors as well as students called each other by their last names and the fact that he technically did not have one would set back his goal of being called by his wolf name.

“Is there a reason why you do not wish to be called by your rightful name?” asked Snape. 

Ashi tilted his head a bit as he thought of an answer. “I do not have anything against my adoptive parents, the Potters, but as I have left their care and have been called Ashi for the past eleven years, I wish keep the name I have been given by my rightful family.”

Professor Snape was speechless. Harry Potter adopted? Not possible. He hadn’t heard anything about this. 

“I have not heard anything about you being adopted, Mr. Potter,” said Snape crossing his arms, emphasizing the ‘Mr. Potter’ part of his statement. “Would you care to tell me how you know for certain you are?”

The corners of Ashi’s mouth lifted in a small smirk. “I know for certain, with only slight doubt, that I was adopted by the Potters. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell you how I know, though. Especially in front of all the other students.”

Snape blinked, then realized that they had been speaking freely to one another with the entire Slytherin population listening. He growled under his breath. “We will continue this conversation in the Headmaster’s office.” The professor stalked off to another hallway next to the announcement board, leaving his students staring speechless at Ashi. Ashi waited for the Prefect to say something; when it became apparent he wasn’t going to do anything but gawk, Ashi turned on his heel and walked up the staircase to the boys’ dormitory.


	13. New Surroundings

His departure broke the trance of his housemates and they all broke off into groups; some boys hesitantly followed Ashi up the stairs, some girls made their way to their own dormitory, and the rest splayed out on the armchairs and gossiped. Ashi made it up one flight of stairs until he saw a sign indicating the first years’ floor. The other boys who had followed him continued silently up the staircase, but so far, he was the only first year in the corridor. He turned into the hall and looked around. There were only two doors, so it was an extremely short hall with another winddow with an underwater view at the end. He looked at the green plaque on left door, then the right. The silver cursive letters on the former read:

Vincent Crabbe  
Gregory Goyle  
Theodore Nott

The same cursive on the latter read: 

Draco Malfoy  
Harry Potter  
Blaise Zabini

Now he really hoped that the boy he would spend the next seven years with wasn’t as bad a git as he had first seemed. Zabini had seemed alright, but Ashi hadn’t spoken to him yet. He heard voices coming up the stairs behind him so, unwilling to have another confrontation with someone that night, he turned the handle to his room and pushed the door open. He slipped through and shut the door quietly. 

He saw three small, ornate four-poster beds arranged in a line. The bedspreads were green with silver embroidery and the bed curtains were a lighter green silk. There was a window looking out to the sea for each of the boys and, underneath it, a nightstand. A large wardrobe sat about a yard away from the foot of each bed. Their luggage was already sitting on top of the beds and Sora hooted happily from her cage on the nightstand of the bed farthest from the door. Another owl, this one tawny, sat in a cage on the nightstand next to Ashi’s bed. Its head had been tucked under its wing, but it had quickly pulled it out when Ashi opened the door. It stared nervously at Ashi as he walked past it to Sora, not making a sound so as to remain hopefully unnoticed by the wolf. 

Ashi smiled a bit as he reached Sora and opene the little door to let her out. She flapped up to his shoulder and sifted a few strands of his hair through her beak affectionately. When she was finished, she glided to the sill of the window and looked out. She was by no means a dumb animal, so she quickly understood that she would not be able to fly through the window. She turned around and hooted mournfully at Ashi. Ashi apologized to her as he stroker her feathers and explained she would have to stay in the dorms until he got a chance to let her out. Sora pouted a bit, then nipped his finger and flew back to her cage to sleep some more. Ashi had just finished latching her cage shut when he heard the dorm door squeak quietly open. 

Draco Malfoy had just closed the door and was turning back around when he caught sight of Ashi staring at him. His cheeks turned a bit red before he walked confidently to the bed next to Ashi’s, the one that had the tawny owl, and opened the trunk. He rummaged around for a bit, pulling out robes to hang in his wardrobe and reaching into his trunk to get some food for his owl. When Ashi spoke, his voice was so quiet and the rustling of the clothes so loud that Draco almost didn’t hear him. 

“Why aren’t you downstairs discussing with your friends my defiance?” asked Ashi.

Draco paused, then turned around to face Ashi. “I don’t know any of them, so they don’t have any credibility.”

Ashi crossed his arms and squinted his eyes suspiciously. “That’s a lie. You know every one of those first years down there, and I’m sure you know some of the older students. They have plenty of credibility with you.”

“Fine, then. Does it make you feel any better if I told you that I’d rather weasel the information I want straight from the source if I can rather than listen to some silly rumors that have no ground because the incident that caused them happened less than a minute before the rumor started?” asked Draco in one nervous breath. He was frazzled because no one, not even his father, had been so quick to call him out on a lie before. 

Ashi relaxed his stance and smiled, but still managed to keep some sternness in his voice as he said, “Honesty always makes me feel better than being lied to. And lying is not a very good way to start a friendship. You were showing off when we first met, now you’re lying. I’m giving you a second chance at a first impression, but you aren’t doing a very good job of taking advantage of it.”

Draco had to resist the urge to hang his head in shame. It felt like he was being scolded by his father! Instead, he decided to try a different approach. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s just the way I’ve been taught how to make friends. It’s not like I like doing it.”

“Ah. That’s another lie, although not intentional. You don’t really know if you don’t like making friends this way. You just don’t know any other way, so you’re not sure if the uncomfortableness that you feel is normal or if you’re not good enough at it to not be uncomfortable.”

It was Draco’s turn to cross his arms and look stern. “What are you? My psychologist or my mum?”

Ashi ignored the comment and continued, “My brother told me to be myself and let the other person decide if they like me or not. If they do, we’re friends. If they don’t, we’re either rivals or acquaintances.”

“You make it sound like you haven’t ever tried it before,” said Draco.

Ashi shrugged. “I haven’t really. We spend so much time moving around that I haven’t had time to make a real friend.”

“So that means I’m your first?”

Ashi thought about it for a bit. He had had a few friends before, but they were all magical creatures or wolves and he had never stayed around long enough to know them very well. He nodded. Draco gave him a small smile.

Just then the door opened and the two boys quickly went about unpacking their trunks. Blaise Zabini walked into the room, looked around, and grinned. “Having a secret talk in here, boys?” he asked snidely as he flopped onto his own bed. 

Draco scoffed. “You wish,” he said.

Once Blaise had sufficiently interrogated Ashi about his House placement and name change, the three boys got ready for bed and crawled under the covers to attempt to get some sleep before their first classes the next day. Before long, soft snores and even breathing emanated from the other two beds, but Ashi was nowhere near asleep. 

He waited long enough to make sure that both boys were deeply asleep, then climbed out of bed. He undressed out of the pajamas, standing naked on the floor behind his bed curtains and shifted into a wolf. He had stripped before shifting because if he wore different clothes than the ones supplied by his human disguise, they would disappear. 

The pack had found this out when Kiba was convinced by Toboe to switch his black jacket for a jean jacket. Even Ashi thought Kiba looked good in it, but, before long, Kiba had to change from human to wolf and back again. When he had, the jean jacket was gone and had been replaced with his usual black jacket. They had searched all around for the jean jacket, but it was nowhere to be found. Ashi didn’t want to take a chance with any of his new clothes and thus decided to shift into a wolf naked. There was no fear of being in the same state when he changed back because his disguise would automatically provide him with his usual clothes. 

Ashi fought the urge to shake his glossy, black fur—that would be loud enough to wake someone—and instead stretched, letting out a small moan as he did so. He had never been in his human form for so long before. It was very cramped and restricting and he was glad to be back to normal again. 

He padded past the other boys’ beds and to the door, his large paws thudding softly on the hardwood floors. Thankfully, the door had not been fully shut by Blaise when he came in, so Ashi easily nosed the door open. Cautiously, he peeked through the doorway. He glanced at the window end of the hallway before turning his attention to the staircase, listening for signs of life. 

A small mouse that had been enjoying a morsel on one of the steps squeaked and disappeared into a hole in the stone, but otherwise the rooms were quiet. Relaxing a bit, Ashi walked the rest of the way out of the door and to the stairs, straining his ears for any human movement. 

He made it to the bottom of the steps and was passing the last of the armchairs when he heard a door squeak open. Panicked, Ashi looked around for somewhere to hide. There was an armchair a few feet away, but he would have time to get his full bulk behind it before the quickly-aproaching steps reached the common room. He shifted just in time for an older boy, the prefect to walk out of the bathroom corridor tying his bathrobe over his stomach.

He stopped when he saw Ashi and they stared at each other. During the few mintues of silence, Ashi realized he didn’t have a very good excuse for being up so late. He could have said he was going to the bathroom, but he was facing nearly the opposite direction.

“What are you doing up?” asked the prefect.

Ashi decided to go with the innocent, lost first-year act. “I, um, couldn’t remember which way the bathroom was.”

The prefect tilted his head slightly up and to the side suspiciously. He could tell that wasn’t really the reason the younger boy was up, but he didn’t have any proof for anything otherwise. He jabbed his thumb behind him and said, “It’s that way.”

Ashi nodded his thanks and walked to the corridor the prefect had just come from. Just before he disappeared from view, the older boy called out to him.

“Hey! Do you always sleep in muggle clothes like that?” he asked.

Ashi looked down at his clothes then back up at the prefect and shrugged. “Always helps to have one less thing to do if we have to move in the middle of the night.”

“So you travel a lot?”

“Yeah.”

“Where to?”

“Just about everywhere, I think. The forests in China are my favorite though.”

The prefect looked at him oddly. “You like the dense forests filled with dangerous animals?”

Ashi cursed silently. Him and his big mouth. “Um. Yeah. It’s…really quite in there and…smells…fresh? I don’t know how to explain it.”

The prefect nodded but still didn’t look like he believed the story. “Huh. You’ll have to tell me about it some time.”

Ashi nearly groaned out loud, but he managed a weak smile. “Sure,” he said reluctantly. 

The two stood there silently for a few more second before the prefect cleared his throat. “Ahem. Well, carry on,” he said awkwardly. He turned toward the staircase and began climbing up it. Ashi watched him then went into the bathroom. No doubt the prefect would spend a few minutes on the stairs spying before he really went back to his room. 

Once he was finished in the bathroom, Ashi looked back up the stairs for any sign of life. The prefect’s scent was gone and there were no other sounds or smells. Ashi turned on his heel and headed to the door of the common room. He opened the door and istened for a few seconds then hopped down through the hole. He trotted down the hallway back toward the Great Hall. He had smelled trees on the way to the common room earlier and figured he may as well start searching there. 

After heading down a couple wrong passages, Ashi finally found a hallway that led outside to a small meadow on the edge of the lake. He slunk next to the wall and peered around the corners in full moonlight. He could neither see nor smell any signs of life beyond the crickets chirping in the grass. Relaxing his tensed muscles, he shook himself, then stretched. He trotted to the lake for a quick drink before sprinting into the forbidden forest with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth and what could be called and excited, happy grin on his muzzle. 

He ran through the forest, his paws thudding loudly on the dry leaves and twigs that littered the ground, loosening his muscles and ridding himself of all the tension and nervousness that had wracked his body the entire day. It was a good ten minutes before he started to slow down, panting a little. He sat down underneath a giant oak tree to catch his breath before he threw his head back and howled for as long as he could. Just as he was running out of breath, he heard answering howls from his pack behind him and a little to his right. 

Ashi stood up and began walking in the direction of the howls, searching for the rest of his family. Every few minutes, he howled again and changed course accordingly. Soon he heard the sound of thudding feet. Ashi walked into a little clearing and saw the rest of his family enter from the other side. They circled around Ashi, panting heavily, and sniffed him a bit before continuing into the forest. Ashi turned around and followed them.

They explored the forest together silently as all except Ashi were far too tired and hungry to want to do anything other than eat and sleep. They spread themselves out to keep an eye out for a cave while they also searched for food; Kiba led the pack with Tsume and Hige a bit behind and to either side while Ashi and Toboe brought up the rear. At first twigs snapped and leaves were shuffled loudly as the wolves tramped tiredly through the trees, stretching their tired muscles and resting their scathing lungs.

Soon, the scent of a boar tickled their noses and they spread out even further into their hunting formation. Tsume fell behind while Ashi circled around to one side and Toboe to the other. Kiba and Hige followed Ashi and Toboe although they would attempt to get in front of the boar. As they got closer to their prey, they slowed down, careful to place their feet in places that would not alert the boar to their presence. They had made sure they were downwind of the boar so it would not smell them and bolt before they were ready.

Tsume could smell how close the boar was and cautiously moved forward some more. He poked his nose through the next set of bushes in front of him and saw a large boar rooting in the dirt. It was large as far as normal boars were concerned, but it was still young. It was just the right age to have been without a herd for a while yet still young enough to not be able to defend itself very well. 

Tsume lay down quietly to wait for the rest of his pack to get into position before they attacked. Several seconds passed as he watched the boar carefully. It lifted its head every few seconds to look around, but always went back to rooting. Tsume waited patiently for the signal that his pack was ready. He knew Toboe and Ashi would be in position fairly quickly, but Kiba and Hige had to get far enough ahead of the boar for them to be able to confuse the boar so much that it would not notice the other three wolves it was running toward. 

Tsume was starting to get impatient, but he had to wait some more otherwise their plan would not work. Suddenly, the boar jerked its head up and stiffed the air, smelling the wolves that were upwind from it. It grunted a bit, but before it could start running in a random direction, Tsume leaped out of his hiding place and snarled. The boar was facing him head-on so Tsume had a chance to snap at its legs without worrying about the tusks.

The boar squealed and turned, swinging its head at Tsume and charging past him. Ashi leapt up from his own hiding place and snapped and growled at the boar, driving it back toward the center of their group. Tsume pounced at it and the boar squealed and swung its head again at them before turning and running through the trees. Tsume drove it on from behind while Ashi kept it from turning to far in his direction. Toboe joined them from his own hiding place and all three wolves bit and snapped at the boar to keep it moving in one direction. 

After about 100 feet, they ran into another clearing; this one had an enormous oak tree standing in the middle of it. The boar skirted around the base of the tree to continue running, but was intercepted by Kiba, who jumped out from behind the oak and straight onto the boar’s neck. He dug his claws into the boar’s soft flesh to hang on and sank his sharp fangs deeply into the neck. The boar squealed and dived head-first into the dirt, flipping over once before coming to a stop on his side. Kiba had jumped off when the boar tumbled to the ground but now all five wolves crowded to their kill and feasted.


	14. First Night

After their meal, the wolves wandered back in the direction they had come, panting happily. As they walked, Toboe attempted to drill Ashi about his new school. 

“Well?” he asked.

“Well, what?” asked Ashi. 

“How was it?”

Ashi dipped in his head in a wolf’s imitation of a shrug. “It was alright, I guess. I think one of the prefects is suspicious of me, though.”

Toboe was confused, “What’s a prefect?”

Ashi grinned; he finally knew something the other wolves didn’t. “He’s supposed to make sure all the students follow the rules,” he said.

“Oh,” said Toboe.

“Did he see you come out?” asked Tsume.

Ashi shook his head. “No. I would have smelled him.”

“Then why are you worried?” asked Hige. “He’s got no reason to think anything bad about you, does he?”

“I ran in to him on my way out. We were still within the dorm room area, so I just said I was looking for the bathroom.”

“And?” asked Toboe.

“He showed me the bathroom, then asked me why I was wearing clothes so late at night. I told him it was easier to move if I was always dressed.”

“What about the rest of the school?” asked Toboe.

Ashi dipped his head again, kicking a rock with his paw. “Nothing interesting so far. They all eat cooked meat.”

The wolves all made sounds of disgust. Ashi grinned.

“That’s pretty much all we did tonight. We were sorted, then ate, then went to bed. Pretty boring.”

“Where were you sorted?” asked Kiba.

“Slytherin,” said Ashi. “The one that supposedly takes in the evil wizards. I don’t get it though. None of the wizards I’ve met so far have seemed very evil. All they want is power; who doesn’t? Sure, there are people who abuse that power, but anyone from any house could make that decision. All I’ve seen them do so far is put up an act. They just go along with each other.” 

Ashi shook his head with worry. Toboe and Hige looked at each other; they had never heard Ashi rant like this before. They had hardly heard him say anything about the school before. Tsume chuckled under his breath and Kiba smiled as he looked back at his pack. 

“You said they have a reputation for being bullies, right?” asked Kiba, looking back at the youngest pack member. Ashi nodded and Kiba looked up at the stars and continued, “There are different ways of maintaining power. The most commonly used one is tyranny, forcing your followers to obey you. It’s probably the worst way to go about it, but it’s the quickest. The other way is to gain your people’s love and respect. It’s more effective in the long run, but it takes a lot of time and effort to get it to the point where your followers will do anything for you. One of the first members probably chose the wrong way of portraying power and the rest followed his example.”

“Is that what the hat wants me to do?” asked Ashi incredulously. “Make them change their ways?”

“Maybe,” said Hige. “Or at least get them started.”

“Great. Any more impossible tasks for me to do?” Ashi asked sarcastically. 

“Why is it so impossible?” asked Toboe. He knew perfectly well why it was so impossible, but he also knew that once all the obstacles were described aloud, they would be less intimidating.

Ashi glared at him. “Well, they all think I’m supposed to be some Light wizard god and they shouldn’t associate with me. Even my Head of House already hates me. Once they find out about me being a wolf, I’ll become some kind of alien on top of that.”

Toboe waited for Ashi to continue. “Is that all?” he asked.

Ashi though for a bit. “Well…yeah. Isn’t that enough?”

The other four wolves grinned at each other. Ashi scowled at them.

“It’s not funny,” he said.

“Sure it is,” said Toboe. “You don’t have anything standing in your way. All you have to do is make some friends.”

“Great. Then we can be outcasts together.”

“Just watch, Ashi. It might not happen right away, but it will happen,” said Kiba.

“It’ll be alright, Ashi. Most of the humans I’ve met are nice,” said Toboe.

“Yeah, but they weren’t wizards,” said Hige.

“And did you forget about the nobles back home?” sneered Tsume.

Toboe interrupted them before they could go on. “Like I said. Most.”

Tsume huffed and Hige grinned. By now they had reached the edge of the forest and could see Hogwarts. The wolves all sat down together to rest and look around them at their new home. 

“That’s pretty ritzy, Ashi,” said Toboe. Ashi scoffed. 

“Not really,” he said. “It’s old fashioned, damp, and moldy inside. They use candles and torches so it’s unnecessarily hot and eternally smells of smoke. Kind of stuffy too.” 

He paused for a moment before continuing sheepishly. “But otherwise it’s alright.”

Kiba stood up and shook himself before walking forward a few yards to the edge of the lake. He looked around one last time before lowering his head to drink. The other wolves waited a few moments, searching for danger, before mimicking Kiba. Ashi stayed behind, watching them. Once they were finished with their drinks, they turned back to the forest to look for a cave some more. They finally found one far enough from the edge of the wood that they wouldn’t be discovered, but not far enough that it would become a long journey to meet each other. With four of the wolves still exhausted, they lay down in the warm interior to sleep.

 

The next morning, Ashi woke early and left the rest of his pack to return to the castle before anyone noticed he was missing. Toboe and Hige were both sound asleep; Hige was snoring rather loudly, so Ashi could tell exactly how tired he was. Kiba was as silent as ever, but he didn’t wake when Ashi walked by him. Tsume slowly slid open one eye to watch Ashi leave, but closed it immediately after he realized who it was that was invading his personal space.

The short run back to the castle was refreshing and finished waking Ashi up. He stopped at the edge of the lake for a drink before he went inside. He made his way through the halls, following his own scent back to the dungeons.

When he reached the door, he changed back to his human form and whispered, “Pureblood.” The door appeared and swung open quietly and Ashi tiptoed inside. He looked around cautiously. As expected, no one was awake yet and Ashi quickly made his way up the stone stairway to his dorm. 

He slipped into the room and to his bed. As he climbed, rather noisily, on top of the messy covers, he realized that he had no idea what to do now. He could see the sun starting to invade the depths of the lake outside his window. Normally, the rest of the pack would be up and ready to start their journey by this time. He hoped the rest of the students would wake up soon. No such luck; the other two boys still slept soundly. Ashi sat on his bed and basically twiddled his thumbs for a few minutes before he got bored and reached under his bed for his trunk.

His arm shuffled around a bit before he found what he was looking for and pulled out a book. Now, just because he hadn’t read his school book didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in learning. He just wasn’t interested in learning something he would be taught later on. Because he was rather isolated from the human world, he had needed to learn about it the only way he could: by reading. Ashi used every opportunity he could to read anything he could get his hands on. He had learned much about the non-magical world, but now that he had been introduced to an entirely new society, one that seemed to have a completely different way of life, he had brand new subjects to learn about. 

He had amassed quite a collection during their visit to Floretts and Blotts. He had found some history books, some on advanced potion making and transfiguration. There were a few on Astrology, Divination, and Rune reading and he had even found one on the Dark Arts. The one that was by far his favorite though was one on creatures like himself: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He had several other magical creature books, but he found this one to be the most detailed. 

This was the book he pulled out of the trunk. It was the largest book he had ever seen, both in height and volume, but he didn’t mind. He was determined to read through the entire thing, cover to cover, without skipping a single creature, which were arranged in alphabetical order (I have never read this book, nor even seen it, so this is based on my imagination and the list provided by harrypotterwikia). His original desire was simply to learn, but he another hope: to find out more about the magical wolves and, if possible, Paradise. 

He flipped through the pages until he found his place and soon lost himself in the world of Bowtruckles and Centaurs. He hadn’t been reading nearly long enough when he was interrupted as Draco groaned and turned over in his bed. Ashi looked over at him and watched as Draco’s eyes slowly fluttered open. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Draco sat up and mumbled a, “Mornin’.”

Ashi nodded back at him and turned back to his book. Draco sat on the edge of his bed rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Before Ashi had read another paragraph, Draco spoke again, this time a little more clearly. 

“How long you been up?” he asked.

Ashi looked out the window and noted the sunlight in the lake before answering. “’Bout an hour, I guess.” 

Draco gaped at him, now full awake.

“You get up that early?” he asked, dumbfounded.

Ashi nodded. “We get up with the sun.”

“How in the world do you get enough sleep?” he asked suspiciously. 

Ashi grinned, showing off his teeth. “You’d be surprised how little sleep I need.”

Draco shook his head in amazement. “You’re weird.”

“Never said I wasn’t,” replied Ashi as he returned to his book. Draco continued to sit on his bed for a few seconds before he stood up and stretched. He walked over the Blaise’s bed and shook his shoulder.

“Hey,” he said. “Wake up.”

Blaise moaned into his pillow, “It’s summer, Mum. Why do I have to get up?”

Draco scowled. “It’s not summer and I’m not your mum, so wake up or you’ll miss class.”

Blaise’s head shot up and Draco stumbled backwards to avoid getting hit. Ashi giggled silently. 

“Hey!” complained Draco. “Watch it! I’m not going to wake you up every day if you’re going to do that.”

“Sorry,” mumbled Blaise. He moaned as he turned over to his back and stretched. “What time is it?” he asked. 

Draco fumbled around on his dresser and held up an antique watch. He pressed a button on the watch and the cover sprang open. 

“6:17,” he said. 

Blaise moaned again. “Oh, Merlin, Draco. Why are we up so early? Breakfast isn’t until eight.”

“Well, the rest of the house is going to be getting up and using the bathrooms. Do you really want to brush your teeth with thirty other people shoving you?” asked Draco

“I guess not,” mumbled Blaise into his pillow.

“Then get up. Ashi’s already ready to go.”

Blaise mumbled something into his pillow again, but Draco ignored him. He pulled out a fresh set of clothes from his wardrobe and grabbed a smaller bag. He marched out the door without looking back at either of them.

Blaise continued to lay face-down on his bed for a few more minutes before he groaned again and sat up. He yawned stretched his arms. Finally, he turned his head and noticed Ashi.

“Mornin’, Ashi,” he said.

“Hmm,” replied Ashi. 

Blaise fidgeted on his bed, clueless as to what to say. Ashi kept reading. After a few seconds, Blaise yawned again and got out of bed. He grabbed a change of clothes from his own wardrobe and left the room. 

Ashi continued to read for quite a while before he became distracted by waiting for his roommates to come back. He was used to running around by now. All this sitting around was making him edgy. He decided to pass the time by unpacking the rest of his stuff and sorting out his side of the room. When Draco and Blaise finally came back, Ashi had finished Centaurs, unpacked, and went back to reading about Chimeras (really, the next entry, according the alphabetical list on harrypotterwikia, was chicken, but why would they have them in a wizarding book?). It amazed him how much time it took both boys to get ready for their day.

Draco immediately went to his wardrobe and hung his nightclothes neatly in his wardrobe. Blaise simply threw his clothes on his bed. Ashi finished his page, then stood up from where he was sitting on his bed and placed the book on his nightstand. 

“Ready, Ashi?” asked Draco.

Ashi rolled his eyes. “I never knew it took humans so long to get dressed. It’s no wonder you never get anything done.”

Draco scowled. “Hey, I know plenty of other people who take even longer. And what do you mean about ‘humans’? Aren’t you a human too?”

Ashi cursed himself again for slipping up, but answered smoothly, “I don’t take an hour and a half to change clothes.”

Blaise grinned. “That just means you don’t take care of yourself properly.”

“How do you know you’re taking care of yourself? Maybe you’re hindering some important bodily function,” said Ashi.

“Enough!” shouted Draco. “Who cares how long someone takes as long as they get where they’re supposed to be on time. Now, let’s go.”

Draco walked to the door, then stopped before he opened it.

“Hey,” he said. “What do you think we should do with the owls?”

Ashi looked back at Sora, who was glaring at him hatefully as he had almost forgotten about her. “I guess we should take them with us so we can let them out,” he replied with a shrug. 

Draco nodded and walked back to his nightstand to pick up his owl’s cage. He led the way out the door and down the staircase. Blaise watched Draco walk out the door before he followed. Apparently, Blaise hadn’t brought any pets. Ashi picked up Sora’s cage and followed them down the stairs. They were greeted by the babble of many voices. Several other boys and girls were in the common room, either chatting with each other on the couches, waiting for breakfast, or running between the bathroom and dorm rooms in various combinations of day and night clothes. Several other students had had the same idea as Ashi; several owls in cages were sitting next to armchairs and tables. A few cats slinked around on bookcases or were napping in laps. There was even a toad that was hopping around underneath a table.

Draco immediately led the way to a group of students sitting on the couches. 

“Mornin’, Draco,” said one of the older students.

A first-year girl pouted. “I thought you were never going to be ready, Draco,” she whined. 

“You take even longer than I do, Pansy,” said Draco as he sat down in an armchair, placing his owl next to the chair. 

Blaise plopped down on one of the couches next to Pansy, flinging his arms out to either side, and sighed.

Pansy turned her nose up at him. “You have no manners, Blaise,” she said.

Blaise grinned at her. “Never had, never will. I’m not my father, Pansy.”

Ashi stood at the bottom of the stairs for a few seconds and watched them before decided he might as well join them. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, he heard his name being called.

“Harry Potter,” sneered a droning voice from across the room. Instantly the entire room fell silent and the students’ eyes fell to either Ashi or the speaker. 

Ashi wanted to ignore the summons, but knew if he did, he would be in even more trouble. So, he turned slightly and asked, “Yes, Professor Snape?”

“Headmaster Dumbledore and I would like to speak to you before breakfast, if you wouldn’t mind,” sneered Snape.


	15. Discussions

He made it sound like it was a request that Ashi could refuse, but they both knew the consequences would be dire if he did. 

“Of course, Professor,” said Ashi. He walked over to Draco’s chair and held up Sora’s cage in a questioning manner. 

Draco sighed and said, “Alright. I’ll take care of it.”

Ashi gave him a quick smile in gratitude, then set Sora next to Draco’s owl. He turned to find Professor Snape glaring at him. Ashi could feel every eye in the common room on him as he walked out the common room door with Snape. Neither professor nor student said a word to each other as they made their way up through the dungeons and to the main floor. 

On their way to the headmaster’s office, they passed a few teachers with handfuls of papers or books, but otherwise the castle could have been deserted. Ashi guessed most of the student were relishing in the last few minutes of free time before school officially started with breakfast. He himself would have liked to begin as soon as possible. After all, the sooner they began, the sooner they were finished. 

Ashi tried to keep track of where they went as they waked but soon lost track of how many turns they made and moving staircases they climbed. After a long, tense silence, they finally arrived at a statue of a griffin. 

“Lemon drops,” murmured Snape. 

Ashi sniggered quietly behind his professor as the griffin began rotating, revealing a stairwell. Professor Snape climbed the stairs with a swish of his robe and Ashi followed silently. When they reached the top of the stairwell, Snape knocked on a door that was about half the size of those leading to the Great Hall. Ashi heard Dumbledore’s voice call out softly, “Enter,” and they did.

The headmaster’s room was undoubtedly the oddest Ashi had seen yet. Several tables and chairs littered the room, all piled high with various old books and trinkets that puffed smoke and twittered. The walls were littered with the portraits of previous headmasters. Some were sleeping, leaning against their frames in a way that made their faces look squished. On the other side of the room stood a claw-footed desk, piled with more books, trinkets and papers. Dumbledore sat behind the desk in a high-backed, heavily-cushioned chair scribbling furiously at one of the pieces of paper. Behind the headmaster was a bookshelf, on top of which sat the Sorting Hat. 

Ashi noticed the Hat at once and had to resist the urge to growl at it. It was the reason Ashi had to go through so much trouble just because it had sorted him into a house other people weren’t expecting. Apparently, the hat noticed Ashi as well, for it tilted one side of its tip in what Ashi could only guess was a wink. Or perhaps a nod of acknowledgment.

Professor Dumbledore looked up as the Snape and Ashi approached his table and smiled. 

“Ah,” he said, putting down his quill and folding his hands together. “Hello, Mr. Potter.”

Ashi dipped his head but said nothing. 

Snape looked down at Ashi and sneered, “I believe he prefers the name Hashy, Sir.”

Dumbledore looked surprised. “Well, that is an unusual name. Why did you choose that one, Harry?”

Ashi ground his teeth as he said, “My name is Ashi, Sirs, and it was given to me by my family.”

Dumbledore waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Nonsense. Your name is Harry Potter. Your parents chose it for you, as proven with the birth certificate. Everyone knows you as Harry Potter.”

“Then they know someone else,” said Ashi, “for I am not Harry Potter.”

“You say this ‘family,’” Snape said as if Ashi had made up the word, “gave you a different name. How do you know they’re not lying?”

“We never have any secrets.”

“Is that so?” asked Snape.

“Yes, it is. Would you like to hear how I was abandoned by wizards on the doorstep of my relative’s home on a cold autumn night? Or how I was never searched for by anyone until now?”

Ashi watched in silent glee as Dumbledore’s face turned paler at every word and Snape almost seemed to shrink into himself, almost as if he were ashamed. “Now, my boy,” said Dumbledore, “we did try to search for you after you disappeared, but none of the magic worked.” 

“Ok,” said Ashi, “let’s say I believe you, which I don’t considering the letter from Hogwarts found me. Why was I left alone on the doorstep of a nearly random house?”

“W-well,” began Dumbledore, grasping for a valid explanation, “your relatives are muggles, non-magical people. From what I have heard, they do not approve of the magical community at all. We hoped to give you to them in such a way that they would not be able to refuse taking you in.”

Ashi stared at him, dumbfounded by how stupid these wizards were. “They would have just dumped me off at some orphanage, probably far away from them, and then what? You said the magic didn’t work when you were searching for me when I disappeared, why would it work then?”

The room was silent for a few seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, Ashi saw Snape’s mouth drop open a few inches incredulously before snapping shut again. Dumbledore’s mouth opened and closed almost comically a few times before he replied. 

“Now, Harry,” soothed Dumbledore. “These aren’t the things such a young child should worry about, especially so early in the morning. Why don’t we get to the real reason I called you here, hmm? Then we can go down to breakfast. Can’t miss that, can we? Most important meal of the day.”

Ashi growled under his breath. He had failed in getting the Headmaster to vocally admit his mistakes, but at least he had acknowledged them; he wouldn’t be so anxious to change the subject otherwise. So Ashi just said scathingly, “Please, Sir, call me Ashi,” and hoped the Headmaster could read the underlying threat.

Dumbledore ignored the request and continued on cheerily. “Last night, the Sorting Hat sorted you into Slytherin. I do believe it may have had some misgivings about that, so I convinced it to try again. Would you like that?”

Ashi thought about it for a bit, remembering the words of the Hat and the advice of his friends. Even though the hat had gotten him into trouble for being sorted into Slytherin, he would receive even more attention by being one of the few people, if any, who were allowed to be sorted twice. Besides, he liked his room and his roommates. 

“No,” he said shortly. 

Dumbledore looked aghast, like he couldn’t believe Ashi actually had the gall to refuse such a fabulous offer.

“No?” he asked. “But surely—”

“I’m sure, Professor. I am perfectly happy right where I am.”

“But—” tried Dumbledore, but was interrupted again, this time by Professor Snape. 

“Sir,” he said. “Mr. Potter said something unusual last night that I would like to clear up before we continue.”

Dumbledore smiled at Snape and gestured for him to continue, but Ashi could see the anger and annoyance in his eyes. Ashi turned his head to look at his professor and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Mr. Potter claims he was adopted by James and Lily Potter.”

“Is that so?” asked Dumbledore, intrigued. “How do you know this, Harry?”

Ashi growled under his breath again. He was beginning to abhor this almighty, all-knowing, great Headmaster of Hogwarts and his snooty employee. It seemed the headmaster seemed to act the way he was just out of habit, but Snape…Snape seemed undecided whether he would be Ashi’s greatest asset at Hogwarts…or his biggest nightmare.

He would have to figure out Snape’s motives later. Right now, even though he knew it was childish, he decided, because neither of the Professors would call him by his proper name, that he would not reveal a single thing to either of them. 

“Before I answer that, Sir,” said Ashi, “may I ask a question of my own?”

Dumbledore chuckled. “You just did, my boy, but go ahead.”

Ashi ground his teeth again and inhaled deeply to calm himself before asking, “Did James or Lily Potter have any…unusual characteristics?”

Dumbledore blinked at him then leaned back in his chair and stroked his long beard thoughtfully. “Well,” he mused, “Lily had a natural talent for potions. Very smart, she was. Very pretty too. Always was a good girl. Managed to keep James and his group in line quite well when they started dating. Now, James…he was quite the troublemaker, though I think he would have been less so if he had not been in school at the same time as Sirius Black.” Dumbledore chuckled. “Had detention nearly every week, as I recall. Ah, yes, they were admired by quite a few people.”

“Annoying little pricks,” mumbled Snape under his breath. Ashi suppressed a grin.

“Does that answer your question, my boy?” asked Dumbledore.

Ashi realized that, although Dumbledore’s little speech had given him some suspicions, the only way to find out for sure was to directly ask someone. Then again, if Dumbledore had known if the Potters were wolves, he would have said something, if only to ask Ashi if he was a wolf as well. Even if Dumbledore didn’t know the Potters were wolves, they would have been considerably less conspicuous during school years if they could help it. 

“Yes, I think so, Sir,” replied Ashi.

“I’m glad I helped,” smiled Dumbledore. “Now, would you mind telling us how you’re so sure that Mr. and Mrs. Potter adopted you?”

Ashi shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Sir. It’s not my secret to tell.”

“Well, it concerns you, doesn’t it?” coaxed Dumbledore.

“Yes, but I am not the only one to be affected if the secret is told.”

“Is that so? Who else is included?” asked Snape.

Ashi turned his head to look up at his professor. “My family. As well as several others who would not wish this information to be freely known,” he admitted. No one said anything for half a minute as the professors thought about Ashi’s words.

“Come now,” said Dumbledore soothingly, “surely they wouldn’t mind that much if you told us.”

“I’m sure they would mind very much, so even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t,” replied Ashi.

Dumbledore and Snape stared at Ashi, dumbfounded that a student, especially one as young as Ashi, would dare talk to the Headmaster in such a way.

“You must be able to contact them in some way, Harry,” tried Dumbledore again, “to ask whether you may reveal this information.”

“Yes, there is, but I am quite certain they would not approve.”

Dumbledore opened his mouth to protest again, but Ashi beat him to it.

“I know this because we discussed it even before I met Hagrid at Diagon Alley. They were quite adamant that I not tell anyone. Ever.” That last bit wasn’t quite true, but Ashi needed to make a point.

“If there are no more questions, I would like to begin my day, Sirs,” continued Ashi. 

“Ah…Yes, of course,” stammered Dumbledore. “I’m glad we had this talk, Harry. Severus, would you show Harry the way back to the Great Hall?” 

Snape hmm’d then turned around with a swish of his robes and, after nodding goodbye to Dumbledore, Ashi followed him. Just as the door was about to close, Dumbledore called out to Ashi.

“Harry? You know you can always come to me for anything, right?”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Professor, but I have many others to look to as well.” Ashi started to close the door, but before it had moved more than a few inches, he leaned back into the room and said, “By the way, Professor, my name is Ashi.” He shut the door and hurried after Professor Snape before Dumbledore could reply.

____________________________________________________________________________

The walk back to the Great Hall was much shorter than Ashi and Snape’s first excursion. Dumbledore’s office was only a few staircases and hallways away from the Great Hall, whereas, Ashi was beginning to realize, the dungeons seemed to be far away from everything in the castle. Again, Snape was silent as he led the way, but he stopped before they turned the last corner.

Ashi could hear a cacophony of voices through the walls and realized that they were rather late for breakfast. He couldn’t hear anyone coming down any other hallways, so he guessed that he and Snape, and perhaps Dumbledore, were the last ones to arrive. 

Ashi stood silently behind Snape for a few seconds and when it became apparent Snape wasn’t going to move, began to walk around him. Snape stared straight in front of him until Ashi was a few steps ahead and was beginning to round the corner.

“A…shi,” he said slowly and quietly, seeming to find it difficult to pronounce, or maybe he was just hesitant to do as a student asked. Ashi paused and looked back, silently gleeful that someone was beginning to call him by his proper name.

‘Yes, Professor?” he asked.

“…I knew your parents in school.”

Ashi raised his eyebrows in a gesture that he hoped would convey that he didn’t think that comment very worth-while. Snape glared at him and Ashi realized that Snape was about to say something he wasn’t comfortable with sharing. 

Immediately Ashi relaxed and said, genuinely interested now, “Really?”

Snape sniffed and raised his chin. “You don’t seem like the kind of boy that likes to postpone facts, so I will be frank with you. Your father, James Potter, was a prat and a bully who looked down on anyone lesser than himself.” He paused, waiting for Ashi’s response.

Ashi blinked at him and waited for him to continue. He had nothing to say about Snape’s revelation on James Potter. After all, Ashi had never known him and would rather have someone tell him the truth about his “father”’s faults than paint James Potter as someone nigh unto God, without blemish and perfect in all ways. 

“But Lily Evans was one of the kindest people in existence and was one of my dearest friends. If anyone other than she were your mother—adopted or not—I would not allow you to stay in my House. Don’t prove my decision to be foolhardy.”

They were silent for a few moments before Ashi replied, “Professor, I am glad you told me a little more about them, but as I have never known them myself and it is highly unlikely that I am really their child, I cannot say whether or not I am like either of them. I am my own person and would like to keep it that way. It is up to you to decide whether or not you like me for who I am. However, I have much to learn in this world and would greatly enjoy having someone on my side to instruct me.”

Ashi bowed his head in goodbye and walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall, leaving a dumbfounded Snape in his wake.


	16. Bullies

As Ashi stepped into the magnificent dining hall, he could feel several pairs of eyes turn to look at him. He spotted Draco and steered himself toward the other Slytherins. The longer he walked, the more eyes he could sense and the quieter the hall got. Even some of the Slytherins he passed stared at him, some with interest, others with pure hatred and loathing. Several students from all tables got up from their seats and left the hall, whether to get to their first class, or simply to get away from Ashi. 

Draco was pushing around the last of his breakfast on his plate with a fork while he conversed with his tablemates. Blaise was a few seats away trying to be part of two different conversations. As Ashi approached, the older students around his friends got up from their seats and left. Ashi sat down in a newly vacant seat across from Draco.

They stared at each other silently for a few seconds as the others surrounding them continued with their conversations, effectively ignoring Ashi. Not that he minded very much. 

“Soo,” baited Draco. “What did they want?”

Ashi shrugged nonchalantly. “Dumbledore offered to let me be sorted again. Hopefully into a House more to his liking.”

Draco’s mouth dropped open. “He actually said that?!”

Ashi grinned. “No, but I knew that’s what he was doing.”

“Wow, he really doesn’t want his Golden Boy to be in Slytherin. You didn’t take his offer then?”

“No. I would have been more of an outcast if I had than I am now.”

Draco chomped down on another bite of his breakfast, then rummaged around in his robes for a few seconds. He pulled out a sheet of parchment, read it, and handed it to Ashi.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Your schedule. Professor Sprout handed them out to us while you were gone. It’s almost time for our first class, which is,” Draco glanced down at another schedule next to his plate, “Charms, so you better hurry if you want any breakfast.”

Ashi shook his head. “Not hungry,” he said. “Not after that.”

Draco nodded in understanding, forked the last bit of eggs into his mouth, and stood up. He reached under the table and picked up two empty green and sliver book bags. The Slytherin crest and, below it, the initials HP were embroidered on the flap of the bag Draco handed over the table to Ashi. Ashi could see the same crest except with the initials DM on Draco’s bag. 

“They also gave us these.”

Ashi took to bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Thanks,” he said as he shoved the schedule in his hand unceremoniously into the new bag.

“Hey, Blaise,” shouted Draco over the din. Blaise looked up from his animated conversation a few seats over. 

“What,” he shouted back. 

“Let’s go. Farley’s supposed to show us the way to our first class and we have to get our books.”

Blaise leaned back and groaned, “Already? I haven’t finished telling them about your first time on a broom.” 

Draco’s cheeks tinged red. “W-who cares about that. If we don’t hurry and get our books and be back in time, she’ll leave without us.”

Blaise grinned at his friends sitting next to him, then stood up, pulling another empty book bag from under the table and waving it around. “I guess we’re the only ones that didn’t bring our books to breakfast, eh?” he asked. 

One of the boys next to him laughed and said, “Naw. The rest of us just don’t bother. Hardly ever need books on the first day and even if you do, the teacher’ll just give you the evil eye and tell you not to forget your books tomorrow. Except McGonagall. She’ll whack your hand with her wand. One time, she even made one kid got to his dormitory to get his book, then gave him extra homework.”

The boy grinned like it was no big deal, but Blaise paled. “Extra homework?” he asked, then draped the bag over his shoulder. “Better go get those books, then. Come on, Draco, Ashi.” He marched past them and led the way out the Great Hall. Draco and Ashi grinned at each other before following their roommate.  
____________________________________________________________________________  
The next few days were a bit of a blur for Ashi as he got used to attending classes and doing homework. As he spent most of his free time studying diligently, Ashi never really met most of his housemates and only got to know Draco and Blaise because they were his roommates. They seemed to like him as they started to spend a lot of time with him. Then again, they had all of their classes together, so they might have just happened to be at the same place at the same time. 

But there was one incident that happened not two days into classes that strengthened the growing friendship between the three boys. Most of the students tended to outright avoid Draco due to his father’s influence (that or buddy up to him), but there were a few, either brave or ignorant, that would pick fights with him. 

That day, Ashi had stayed behind in potions class for a few minutes to help his tablemate clean up some spilled Beetle’s Eyes from their lesson. They both finished at the same time, but Ashi was the last to leave the classroom because the other wasn’t tall enough to reach the shelf the Beetle Eyes were stored on. 

He could have asked Snape to put it away for him, but the Professor tended to sneer and grumble irritably if he was interrupted when he was preparing for his next lesson in the adjoining office. So, he stood on tip toe and reached as far above his head as he could to put the small jar away while his tablemate scurried out the door, eager to reach the Great Hall for lunch. Once the jar had slid far enough back that he was sure it wouldn’t fall, Ashi took a step back and let out the breath he had been holding in an unconscious attempt to make himself taller. He hated standing on his toes—it made him feel so small. 

Ashi walked back to his desk and picked up his back, sifting through it to make sure he had everything as he walked out the door. He took his time as he walked through the huge halls, savoring the quiet that filled the passages when all of the students were gathered in the Great Hall and the teachers were preparing their next lessons. It didn’t last long, though. 

After Ashi had turned two corners and climbed three sets of stairs, he started hearing voices. They weren’t speaking loudly; they obviously were trying to avoid attention but standing in one of the most-used corridors that led from the potions classroom back to the Great Hall kind of kept their secrecy to a minimum. Still, Ashi dreaded having to walk past them. They would most likely have some kind of remark to make about him, but not necessarily to him, as did most of the students he passed. 

Ashi slowed down, hoping in vain that they would leave before he reached them. He sighed in dismay as he realized they were right around the next turn. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who it was. Draco and Blaise were facing off two seventh-year Gryffindor boys in a rather heated argument. Blaise was, of course, trying to joke his way out of the fight, but Draco’s face had already turned a light shade of red. The Gryffindors were grinning teasingly at both of them, but Ashi could tell it wasn’t a good kind of teasing. 

“His father will just get him a new one. Right, Jake?” asked one of the Gryffindors.

“Oh, I’m sure,” replied the other. “He’s so rich and famous, there must be hundreds of bag-sellers crawling all over each other to get him to buy their stuff.”

Draco crossed his arms, trying, and failing, to look intimidating. “And what am I supposed to tell him when he asks why I need a new bag?” he asked. 

The two Gryffindors looked at each other and shrugged nonchalantly. “How are we supposed to know?” said the first one. 

“Tell ‘im the giant squid reached out and took it. Tell him it wanted to learn too!” added the second and started laughing. 

Blaise grinned too, taking advantage of the relaxedness of the bullies. “Ok,” he said, “we’ll tell him that, but what about the colors of the bag. Don’t you think it’ll look suspicious if you start carrying around a green and silver bag with the Slytherin crest and the initials that aren’t yours on it?”

The bigger boys immediately stopped laughing and stared at Blaise. “Are you an idiot?” asked the second boy. 

“What do you think these are?” asked Boy #1, taking out his wand and waving it in front of himself. “It’s easy enough to change the colors, so just hand them over like good little chaps now or we might be forced to…mmm…rough ya up a bit. Yeah?”

Draco almost visibly bristled. “If you do the slightest thing to us, my father—”

“Ooooh,” taunted Boy #1. “The wittle baby’s gonna wun home to daddy. ‘Daddy, help me!’”

“There ain’t nothin’ he can do even if you did tell ‘im,” said Boy #2. “I doubt you know who we are and even if ya did, our parents don’t work anywhere near your father, so he can’t touch ‘em.”

Draco turned a deeper shade of red. Now it was Blaise’s turn to try. 

“But my mum—” he started.

“Can’t do a thing to us either,” said Boy #2. “We know all about how she’s been married seven times and each husband died under mysterious circumstances. What’s she gonna do? Murder us too? Don’t you think it’d look a bit fishy if the ones her son was complaining about suddenly turned up dead?”

“The only reason anyone pays attention to her anyway is because she’s so rich,” added Boy #1. “Without that money, she just a stinking, slimy—"

“HEY!” shouted Ashi, stomping up to the group angrily. 

The two older boys grinned at each other, then back at Ashi. 

“Well, well, well,” said Boy #1. “Look who it is. The traitorous freak.”

“Come to see some real heroes put the villains in their place,” asked Boy #2.

Ashi stopped next to Draco and folded his arms, tapping his foot on the stone floor. “That depends. Although, I think your perception of who’s the villain and who’s the hero is a little screwy.”

They continued grinning. “What ‘cha talking about? Gryffindors are always the heroes and Slytherins are always the villains,” said Boy #1. “That’s just the way it is.”

“Since when?” asked Ashi. “I never got the memo that said I was supposed to be evil once I was accepted into Slytherin.” He turned to his friends. “Did you?”

They both shook their heads. Ashi looked back at the other two. “How about you? Did you get something that said Gryffindors are always good and Slytherins are always bad?”

“Didn’t have to,” said Boy #2. “It’s just a simple fact of life. Although I guess sometimes the Sorting Hat can get a little confused. Must have been what happened when he sorted your parents into Gryffindor. I heard that your dad was best friends with You-Know-Who when his was here. It was only Dumbledore keeping a tight leash on ‘im that kept him from becoming a Death Eater. And your mum. Boy, was she a slut. Slept with a different guy every other week, I heard. It’s no wonder they had a freaky kid like—”

Ashi couldn’t take it anymore. He was trying really hard to keep his temper in check, but he had never really been good at it and nobody deserved to be talked about that way. Especially by people who didn’t even know them. Before the bully had finished speaking, Ashi had delivered an uppercut to the other boy’s jaw so fast that none of them had time to react. Ashi’s arm was back down by his side by the time anyone looked at him. 

The bully’s head snapped back with a crack and he screamed as blood began dripping from his mouth. He had bitten his tongue. 

“You little bastard,” shouted Boy #2. He pulled his own arm back in preparation for his own punch but was interrupted by a silky-soft voice.

“What’s going on here?” asked Professor Snape, slinking around the corner with an armful of books and papers. Boy #1 was still trying to stem the flow of blood trickling out of his mouth to answer. Boy #2 quickly lowered his arm to eye-level and pointed at the Slytherins.

“We were just walking by, minding our own business, when this little prick punched Derek,” he explained. 

Snape stared balefully at them. “Is that so?” he asked. “I didn’t see anything. Are you sure he didn’t just bite his tongue on his own?”

“What? I—he—NO!” shouted Boy #2.

“Hnn. Then do you have some sort of proof?” asked Snape. “Did you see one of them hit him?”

“Well…no, but—”

“Then how do you know Mr. Potter punched your…friend?”

“I—I—Because—"

“Hnn. No proof. Ten points from Gryffindor for wrongful accusation.”

“What?! But—”

“Get him to the infirmary before I take even more points for dawdling.”

Both of the Gryffindors glared at the Slytherins before limping off down another corridor to the infirmary. The remaining students looked up at Snape silently and he at them for a few seconds before he continued on his way to the Great Hall with a swish of his robes.

The three boys stood in silence until the Professor had turned a corner and disappeared. Suddenly, Blaise clapped a hand in Ashi’s shoulder and started snorting with laughter. 

“Ha ah ha, did you see their faces?” he hooted. “They’ll think twice before messing with you again, Ashi. Where’d you learn to punch like that anyway?”

Ashi looked down at him, slightly confused. “You don’t learn self-defense?” he asked. 

“Well, kinda. Most of us don’t, but they’ll teach us that later in school. That’s what Defense Against the Darks Arts is for.”

Ashi shook his head. “But what if something happens before you get to school?” he asked. 

“Something like what? We’ve got Aurors to catch the bad guys and our parents take care of everything else. But there are always nuts like Crabbe and Goyle that learn how to fight.”

Ashi shook his head again. He was too tired to continue this debate so he simply stepped away from them and muttered under his breath, “Stupid humans.”

“Oh, hey,” continued Blaise, taking a few steps to catch up with Ashi. “Thanks for helping out back there. It was probably going to get ugly if you hadn’t stepped in when you did.”

“No problem,” said Ashi. “I needed to go this way anyway.”

Behind them, Draco stood by himself and watched as they walked further away. Once he had gathered enough courage and dignity, he hurried to catch up with them. 

“Hey, Ashi?” he asked. Ashi looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Draco picked at a string on his bag before he continued. “Will you…um…Will you teach us how to do that?”

“Do what?” asked Ashi.

“You know…how to punch people like that.”

“You want to know how to get physical with someone?” asked Blaise, surprised. “I would have never expected it from you.”

“That’s why it’s gotta stay between us,” hushed Draco. “Father will kill me and leave my corpse out for the crows to pick dry if he finds out I’m doing this.” Draco turned back to Ashi. “So, will you do it?”

Ashi shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “Pick a time and a place and I’ll be there.”

“Awesome,” said Blaise. “Does that mean I can come too?”

Ashi nodded. Blaise pumped his fists in excitement and took a few steps ahead of them to practice some moves he had seen on a Muggle movie once when he had sneaked away from home. He was doing them so badly and with such an emphasis on the yells and battle cries that Ashi had a hard time keeping his laughter to himself. 

Beside him, Draco fidgeted for a few seconds before he said quietly, “Thank you,” and quickened his pace. Ashi watched the shorter boy walk away from him, catch up to Blaise, and attempt to convince him to quick with the ridiculous moves. 

Ashi smiled to himself. He was starting to get the hang of this friendship thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to put this chapter in at first because I haven't had any experience with bullies, but I thought really hard about it, came up with a dumb reason for the older boys to pick on Draco, and went from there. If you couldn't tell, shame on me, but they were trying to steal Draco's bag. 
> 
> I know they aren't given book bags in the books, but I realized I forgot to give Ashi one when they went on their shopping trip and I thought it would be kinda cool for all the students to have book bags that matched their House colors (like their scarves and stuff do).
> 
> Draco is a little OOC, but we never really got to know him anywhere other than when he was beating down on Harry. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I believe Draco only acted that way because he was brought up that way. Now that Ashi's in the picture, he'll have a change in attitude. Draco's so timid and everything now because he admires how Ashi can take all the stares and rumors and everything with such a disinterested air. 
> 
> As far as I can remember, Blaise Zabini was only mentioned in passing, so I get to create his character from almost nothing. Whoopee! He's going to be the light-hearted joker, so we'll continue to have a bit of humor. For those of you who don't know, Blaise is an only child with a seven-time-widowed mother. Her husbands all died under mysterious circumstances, but with no evidence to pin her as a murderer, and they all left her and Blaise humongous fortunes. Because there was no steady father-figure in his life, and his mother was always off on a date, Blaise practically raised himself and, because they were rich and he was tired of being spoiled, he tended to sneak out a lot. Hence, he visited muggle villages and made muggle friends and such. His mother knows but doesn't really care what he does as long as he doesn't get in trouble or hurt. Some of this I got from Harry Potter Wiki and others I made up, so don't think this applies to the Blaises of other HP stories.


	17. Flying Lessson Two Weeks Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you already read the update on 7/10, skip to the bottom of the AN for info on editing

Draco stuck to Ashi like glue after that. Since they had all of their classes together, it wasn’t too bothersome and Ashi soon realized the benefits of having a friend, especially Malfoy.

Draco had influence in nearly every social circle, mostly through his father but it was still influence. None of the other Slytherins even looked at Ashi the wrong way once they realized Draco was his friend. But unless Draco was with him, Ashi was clearly not welcome to join study groups or even conversations with other students.

 After the bully incident, and the subsequent defense lessons, Ashi gradually became closer to Draco and Blaise and was beginning to enjoy their nearly constant company, but it was almost impossible for them to ever be completely alone with each other outside their room or midnight defense lessons. Since there were so few Slytherin first years, they had most of their classes together.

 Pansy Parkinson, Ashi found, was more of a chatterbox than Blaise and she concentrated more on gossip than any other subject. Even though none of them were really listening to her, and therefore not replying, she plowed on through the latest rumors. At first it was mostly about wizarding celebrities and their social and romantic lives, but she soon turned the topics on the relationships of various students. Occasionally, she would have a new rumor about Ashi to share, but since he tended to keep his head down, the students started to run out of things to talk about after a few weeks. Of course, there was still interest in Ashi being “The Boy Who Lived” and his switch to the Dark Side.

 The two bullies, Jacob Livingston and Derek Grey, became bound and determined to make Ashi be seen as the Devil’s spawn before their time was up. Even though they were in their last year and they should have been studying for their N.E.W.Ts, they seemed to devote their time to creating more and more outlandish lies to tell about Ashi.

First, they came up with a theory that Ashi was not actually Harry Potter at all (which Ashi whole-heartedly agreed to) but was really Voldemort. As their story went, Voldemort had actually taken over Harry’s body that night so many years ago, which was why Harry had survived and Voldemort disappeared.

Next, continuing along the lines of Harry = Voldemort, they said Voldemort had killed all of the Potters, hidden Harry’s body, and cast a spell on himself so he would appear as a baby and be able to pass himself off as Harry Potter.

Their most recent scam, strengthened by the well-known fact that Quirrel was absolutely terrified of vampires, was that Harry was actually a vampire assassin sent to kill Professor Quirrel for knowing to many vampiric secrets but was unable to get close enough because Quirrel had taken precautions.

 No one had wanted to believe Voldemort was back so the first the rumors dissipated quickly. The last one, though, seemed more valid since it looked like Quirrel tended to avoid Ashi (no one seemed to notice that the Professor avoided the entire student body) and because of Ashi’s almost non-existent eating habits.

 All because of Jacob and Derek, the other three houses were terrified of Ashi. He found it difficult to find a partner other than Draco or Blaise for classes. Groups of students walked as far away from him as they could when they passed each other in the hall. The Slytherins made their fear less obvious. They would still sit next to him in the Great Hall because of Professor Snape’s speech (which he made the second night instead of the first because of the debacle with Ashi) about keeping skirmishes among fellow Slytherins within the walls of their House so they would appear unified in front of the other houses, but completely ignored him in the common room unless he was sitting with Draco. Not that Ashi really minded; he didn’t have much to say to anyone other than Draco and Blaise.

 Thankfully, Pansy quickly grew tired of the constant silence the boys provided her with on the way to and from classes and soon found other friends to walk with. The two sentinels, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, were a bit harder to get rid of. The hulking boys had taken on the unofficial job of being Draco’s body guards. Of course, their decision was helped along by Lucius Malfoy.

Draco’s father had taken them aside just before they had boarded the Hogwart’s Express and explicitly asked them to protect his son. They were supposed to accompany Draco wherever he went, but their stomachs got in the way quite frequently. They hadn’t been with Draco the night he had met Jacob and Derek because they had left early to eat at the Great Hall while Draco and Blaise had waited for Ashi for a few minutes.

Vincent and Gregory had been exceptionally terrified of what Lucius Malfoy would do to them if he ever found out Draco had been bullied (or if it happened again) and had tightened their guard considerably. They would take turns leaving early for meals so there was always at least one of them with Draco all the time. Once, they even followed Draco into the bathroom. Draco had thrown a loud enough hissy fit that Professor McGonagall had shown up to see what was wrong. Draco’s guards let him go to the bathroom by himself after that.

Eventually, though, Draco (and by extension Ashi and Blaise) grew so aggravated with their constant surveillance that he wrote his father and begged—although quite professionally—him to release Crabbe and Goyle from their duties. Somehow, he managed to somewhat convince Lucius that he was more than capable of protecting himself, especially since he had the ever-vigilant Ashi around nearly 24/7.

It finally came down to Ashi needing to prove himself in combat against Goyle. He did so easily, slipping under Goyle’s guard while the bigger boy was throwing his first punch and jabbing his fist into Goyle’s belly. When he doubled over in shock, Ashi jabbed him in the face hard enough to knock Goyle over. He was knocked out when his head bounced off the stone floor. Lucius was sufficiently impressed and relieved Goyle and Crabbe of their protect-Draco-or-die vows, although because he was still suspicious of Ashi’s true intentions with switching sides, ordered them to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.

 All in all, their group fluctuated from chatty to quiet to chatty within a few weeks as it got smaller and smaller until it was just Ashi, Blaise, and Draco. Pansy and Blaise had provided most of the noise the first week then, when she left, it was just Blaise attempting, unsuccessfully, to start conversations. But as their schooling progressed, and Ashi became more and more comfortable with Draco and Blaise, Ashi began to start bouncing theories, techniques, and the like off of his friends and soon he and Draco (Blaise was less than interested in talking, or thinking, about school when he didn’t have to) were debating about how to create new spells or how to add extra effects to known spells or if different wand movements would produce altered effects of the same spell.

He was trying to follow his pack’s advice about making friends, but he was finding that seemingly simple endeavor to be extremely hard. Despite him having gained Draco and Blaise so quickly, he doubted he would have if they were not his roommates and he had not helped them that one day in the hallway. Still, he was trying. He had set himself the goal of recruiting one friend from each House, starting with Gryffindor. That way the Hufflepuffs would see him trying to overcome the Houses’ rivalry and hopefully become interested in his sincerity and what not and Ravenclaw would become curious as to why he was trying to be friends with Gryffindors.

Ashi decided to start with Ronald Weasley, since he was a Gryffindor and Ashi had met him, but Ronald seemed to go out of his way to avoid Ashi (as did most of the students not in Slytherin House). Once, Ron had hidden behind a pillar when he saw the other boy coming his way down the hall. It frustrated Ashi to no end to not know why Ron didn’t like Ashi anymore, but Ron’s continued avoidance made it extremely difficult to find out, despite the fact that they had more than half their classes together. He never tried asking anyone else; he’d rather hear the, no doubt flimsy, explanation from Ron himself.

The Granger girl was another candidate. Ashi actually rather liked her after a chance encounter at the library one night. He admired her eagerness the learn as she did his, but she was just a step below obsessive over her grades and as far as Ashi could tell, she didn’t have any real friends. Her classmates had discovered early on that she was a good student and pretended to be friends just to have her do their homework for them. She went along with it because, at least in Ashi’s opinion, she couldn’t find a good balance between a social life and school. It could also be that she was so desperate for friends that she didn’t care that they were using her. But before he could think about putting a real effort into making new friends, he had to get used to his classes; he would be able to once he figured out his professors.

Professor McGonagall was strict and seemed rather grumpy, but Ashi was used to such treatment from a few of his pack members so he could see that she really did care for her students. It was just that she thought most of them needed more discipline than they were given. She was a good Transmutation teacher so Ashi was able to overlook her attitude.

Professor Snape was an odd character. He seemed to be trying to bother Ashi constantly during Potions class and would direct all questions to him, despite Hermione Granger stretching her hand in the air as far as it would go each time. Ashi was able to answer most of the questions though, except for the hardest ones that Ashi thought usually wouldn’t be asked of first-years or even third-years. He suspected Snape would have been even more obnoxious if Ashi had been sorted into a different house or if he had not revealed that the Potters were not his true family. He intended to ask the Professor why he hated the Potters so much.

Professor Flitwick’s Charms class was next on Ashi’s list of favorites.  Even though the wizard was extremely short and had a rather squeaky voice that grated rather annoyingly on Ashi’s sensitive ears, he was a good teacher. Flitwick enunciated the wand movement and spell pronunciation so much that it was nearly impossible for any student to get it wrong. Only those who didn’t pay attention or were unenthusiastic about learning didn’t get the spell right after the first few tries.

History of Magic was by far the most boring class. It was filled with Goblin rebellions and muggle witch hunts, but Ashi tried his best to pay attention to the ghost, Professor Binns. Most of the other students weren’t even keeping up the pretense of paying attention. Less than ten minutes into each class, more than half the students were either whispering to each other or snoring. Ashi didn’t know it was possible for a teacher to hold so little of his class’s attention.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was strange, but exhilarating. Professor Quirrell still stuttered quite badly and had a terrible fear of vampires so he constantly smelled of garlic. So much so, in fact, that Ashi couldn’t get so much as a whiff of that second scent that he had first smelled on the man. He was always switching his subject matter for each class, so Ashi almost never knew what they were going to learn that day. Sometimes they discussed magical creatures. Other times they learned defensive spells. It was a class that always kept Ashi on his toes, so he enjoyed it very much. If only Quirrel would get rid of his stutter and his garlic perfume…and perhaps discuss ways to defend themselves without the use of magic, but it seemed that most wizards didn’t bother thinking about that side of their arsenal. After all, who would dare dream of taking or destroying their wand?

Herbology was easy for Ashi since he had encountered nearly all of the plants they studied in the forest, both magical and Muggle. All he had to do was remember the proper names and uses of each of the plants. Astronomy was much the same. He had spent so much time outside that he knew each one of the stars, at least in the right hemisphere (they had never managed to travel to the Americas, or even outside of the main continent of Asia); he just had to memorize names.

Before he came to Hogwarts, Ashi had never actually realized how much homework a student had. The homework itself wasn’t very hard, but it was extremely time consuming. He would have liked to go out hunting with his pack every other day, but the amount of work he had to complete kept piling up until he could only go out every third or fourth day. Sometimes he would stay the night with them, but when he or his roommates had to get up early to finish more work, he would immediately go back inside to sleep. As such, he didn’t have much of a social life beyond walking to or from meals or classes with his housemates.

There was one class that didn’t have any homework assigned that Ashi was equally excited and nervous for: Flying Class. It was a class that only first years were required to take and Ashi wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad that it was mandatory. He had never flown before, Firebrand the dragon had been too young to even fly, much less have a passenger, when the pack had found him, and Ashi wasn’t sure what to expect. That alone was enough reason for him to be nervous. Add all the flying accidents Ashi had heard about to his ignorance and he was near outright panic. Nevertheless, no one else seemed to be very nervous and, as a wolf, Ashi was supposed to be hard pressed to reveal any sort of discomfiture.

So it was with heavy footsteps and a pattering heart that Ashi walked with Draco, Blaise, and a small stream of other students to the Quidditch Pitch outside after breakfast on his second Friday morning at Hogwarts. First year Slytherins were scheduled to have that first flying lesson that day with the Hufflepuffs. It would last the entire morning and they would have the afternoon off. Ashi intended to spend his free time recovering from his imminent near-death-experience and attempting to put a dent in the seemingly-endless plie of homework. On the other hand, Blaise seemed much more excited for the day, bouncing and skipping around like some lovesick teenaged girl; Draco was just bored. Finally, Draco couldn’t stand Blaise’s pattering.

“Would you quit it?!” hissed Draco. “You’re becoming rathe embarrassing.”

Blaise grinned cheekily at Draco. “Can’t,” he replied. “Too excited. I get to fly on a broom for the first time today.”

“You’ve never flown on a broom before?” asked Draco, sounding shocked.

“Nope,” said Blaise, popping the ‘p.’ “Mum didn’t think I was responsible enough. I think she was worried that I would crash through the window when she was with one of her boyfriends or go touring around the Muggle towns.” Blaise gave Draco a suspicious look. “I thought you knew that, Draco. We grew up together.”

Draco scowled. “We might have grown up together, but you’ll remember that Father didn’t really let us see each other very much.”

“Oh, yeah. He was always having you study how to be proper heir and all that rubbish.”

“Most of it might be rubbish, but at least I won’t embarrass myself when I go to parties.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I tripped at that party on purpose. That way everybody would notice me.”

“They noticed you, alright. I was still hearing stories about the boy with no grace who fell flat on his face weeks after it happened.”

Blaise blushed. “Oh, shut up. It’s not like we all have someone around all the time to teach us stuff like how to walk in robes a foot longer than your own body.”

“Why did you have robes so long, anyway?”

Blaise shrugged. “Mum thought it would be best if we got robes that were too long for me so that I could grow into them. That way we wouldn’t have to keep buying new ones every year.”

“What does she care about that? You’ve got plenty of money, right?”

“Yeah, but she just didn’t want to miss an opportunity for a date if we had to spend an afternoon getting me fitted for new dress robes. Plus, you know she grew up kinda poor, so she’s always looking for ways to save money. Not that it does her much good; she always spends it on her next date.”

Blaise was saved from further embarrassing conversation by Madame Hooch, the flying instructor, a rather short, yellow-eyed woman with grey hair and a scratchy voice that indicated how much she used it at loud volumes. She had come up behind the students that were still making their way to the pitch and called out for them to hurry up.

They all picked up their pace and trotted to find a place next to one of the many broom laid out on the green grass. Ashi had been dreading this lesson and had practically dragged his feet on the way there, making him, Blaise, and Draco some of the last students to arrive. Yet, they still managed to find three brooms next to each other. They were the three brooms separating the Hufflepuffs from the Slytherins so it was no wonder they were left unoccupied. The fact that they were the oldest, most raggedy brooms available didn’t help.

Madame Hooch blew a coach’s whistle to get their attention.

“Does everyone have a broom?” she yelled, eyes darting over the group to make sure there were no stray brooms or students. “Good. Now stand right next to it with your arm over it, palm down, and say ‘Up!’”

A chorus of ‘Up!’ echoed throughout the pitch. To his surprise, Ashi’s broom jumped straight into his hand and he held it awkwardly as it quivered excitedly. Draco’s broom also found his hand when he called, as did a few other brooms. Most simply rolled over, like Blaise’s did, hovered uncertainly beneath their riders’ palms, or didn’t move at all. Draco set his broom twig-side down and waited as Madame Hooch walked around their group to help students. Ashi followed his lead, feeling a bit foolish.

As soon as everyone had their broom in their hand, whether the broom had jumped up by itself or the rider and simply bent down to pick it up, Madame Hooch blew her whistle again. She gathered her own broom and demonstrated how to mount properly. She made another round of the group as she corrected grips. Ashi didn’t even try mounting the broom until he had noticed how she had corrected a few students. He nervously swung his leg over his broom, feeling even more foolish as he waited for Madame Hooch to scrutinize him. She shifted his hands a bit, but otherwise left him alone.

Ashi’s nerves lifted a bit when she tried to correct Draco’s grip and he snipped that his father had taught him to hold the broom like _this_. She gave him a short lecture on how, since his father was not the Hogwarts flight instructor, he had better follow her instructions instead. Draco’s face had a red tinge by the time she moved on and quite a few of the group were sniggering behind their hands.

“Now, when I blow my whistle, kick off from the ground, hard,” said Madame Hooch when she was finished. “Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then return to the ground by leaning slightly forward. Ready? One—two—”

She blew the whistle and everyone kicked off the ground at the same time. Most of the Hufflepuff students hovered a few inches off the ground, a few managed to wobble a foot or more into the air. Because all of the Slytherin first years were pureblood and had access to brooms before they attended Hogwarts, they were all sitting on their brooms, almost careless in their actions, as they watched the other students struggle. Well, all the Slytherins except Ashi and Blaise, but even they quickly got the hang of balancing midair.

**BEGIN EDIT**

They all picked up their pace and trotted to find a place next to one of the many brooms laid out on the green grass. Ashi had been dreading this lesson and had practically dragged his feet on the way there, making him, Blaise, and Draco some of the last students to arrive. Yet, they still managed to find three brooms next to each other. They were the three brooms separating the Gryffindors from the Slytherins so it was no wonder they were left unoccupied. The fact that they were the oldest, most raggedy brooms available didn’t help.

Madame Hooch blew a coach’s whistle to get their attention.

“Does everyone have a broom?” she yelled, eyes darting over the group to make sure there were no stray brooms or students. “Good. Now stand right next to it with your arm over it, palm down, and say ‘Up!’”

A chorus of ‘Up!’ echoed throughout the pitch. To his surprise, Ashi’s broom jumped straight into his hand and he held it awkwardly as it quivered excitedly. Draco’s broom also found his hand when he called, as did a few other brooms. Most simply rolled over, like Blaise’s did, hovered uncertainly beneath their riders’ palms, or didn’t move at all. Draco set his broom twig-side down and waited as Madame Hooch walked around their group to help students. Ashi followed his lead, feeling a bit foolish.

As soon as everyone had their broom in their hand, whether the broom had jumped up by itself or the rider and simply bent down to pick it up, Madame Hooch blew her whistle again. She gathered her own broom and demonstrated how to mount properly. She made another round of the group as she corrected grips. Ashi didn’t even try mounting the broom until he had noticed how she had corrected a few students. He nervously swung his leg over his broom, feeling even more foolish as he waited for Madame Hooch to scrutinize him. She shifted his hands a bit but otherwise left him alone.

Ashi’s nerves lifted a bit when she tried to correct Draco’s grip and he snipped that his father had taught him to hold the broom like this. She gave him a short lecture on how, since his father was not the Hogwarts flight instructor, he had better follow her instructions instead. Draco’s face had a red tinge by the time she moved on and quite a few of the group were sniggering behind their hands. 

“Now, when I blow my whistle, kick off from the ground, hard,” said Madame Hooch when she was finished. “Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then return to the ground by leaning slightly forward. Ready? One—two—”

She blew the whistle and everyone kicked off the ground at the same time. Most of the Hufflepuff students hovered a few inches off the ground, a few managed to wobble a foot or more into the air. Because all of the Slytherin first years were pureblood and had access to brooms before they attended Hogwarts, they were all sitting on their brooms, almost careless in their actions, as they watched the other students struggle. Well, all the Slytherins except Ashi and Blaise, but even they quickly got the hang of balancing midair. 

The rest of the class was spent practicing their kick-offs and hovering. The pureblood Hufflepuffs who had already learned to fly spent the time encouraging their Muggleborn Housemates, while the Slytherins, including Ashi and Blaise once they discovered their balance, simply sat on their brooms and looked bored. Madame Hooch didn’t care one way or the other what they did once she had approved of their progress for the day; she didn’t let them leave though, so the Slytherins, stuck where they were, resorted to talking to each other. There were only a few things they could talk about and it just so happened that one of the most-wondered about people was sitting there with them. 

Pansy Parkinson leaned forward on her broomstick. The Potter boy had Draco and Blaise between himself and her, but that wasn’t enough to discourage her from talking to him. She had wanted to find out about him since he was first sorted into Slytherin. That was one of the reasons why she had stayed with the three boys for so long, but Draco and Blaise had managed to keep her away from Harry the entire time. It didn’t help that Potter seemed to go entirely out of his way to avoid everyone he didn’t want to talk to. Now, however, she had him trapped. He couldn’t leave without getting in trouble and with so many other students wondering the same things as her, he wouldn’t be able to keep quiet while all of them pestered him. 

“Harry,” she said in her sweetest voice. He ignored her, didn’t even look up from where he was staring at his hands; she didn’t notice that his grip had tightened on his broom. Draco’s head jerked up in surprise and a smile grew over Blaise’s face. By now they had learned how much Ashi loathed that name; he had even snapped at a professor for calling him that, only just barely managing to avoid detention for his outburst.

Pansy waited a few seconds before straightening up and trying again. “Harry, we were all wondering something.” Still, he didn’t look up. Pansy almost huffed in frustration; no one had ever ignored her like this. But she had expected this to be somewhat difficult, so she took a deep breath to calm herself and kept going.

“Harry, why were you sorted into Slytherin? You’re supposed to be the one to have defeated the Dark Lord, so why are you in the Dark Lord’s House?”

Now she had the attention of the entire Slytherin group. Well, except for Crabbe and Goyle. They were too busy daydreaming about lunch. Beside her, Theodore Nott, Daphne Greengrass, and Millicent Bulstrode leaned forward in anticipation. On her other side, Blaise looked like he was trying to hold back a smile like he knew something she didn’t. She almost scowled at him; she hated it when someone knew something she didn’t. Draco, on the other hand, was growing paler every time she called out Harry’s name, glancing between the Potter boy and Pansy in an almost panicky sort of way. She ignored him too. It was probably just an act anyway.

Pansy tapped her thumb on her broomstick, waiting for an answer. Finally, she couldn’t wait any longer.

“Potter!” she snapped. Potter’s head jerked up and he glared at her. It took all her courage and self-control not to shriek and fly away at the murderous look he gave her. She had an audience now and, while she was beginning to wonder if that was a good thing, she couldn’t afford to back down. Especially from a lily-livered, blood traitor like Potter, but she was beginning to form her own answer to her question.

“Enough,” growled Harry. He turned his broomstick to face her and the rest of the Slytherins. Draco and Blaise began inching their way backward, out of the circle of students. “Why can’t you get it through your thick skulls,” continued Harry, slowly flying over to where Pansy was fidgeting on her broom. “Harry Potter doesn’t exist. He might have a long time ago, but not anymore. It would do you well to remember that my name is not Harry Potter. It’s Ashi.”

Pansy’s broomstick handle was almost touching Potter’s now, and he was leaning so far over his handle that his nose was almost touching her’s. Pansy almost squeezed her eyes shut and nodded but remembered at the last second that she was a proud Slytherin. She wouldn’t let Potter know he had intimidated her. Instead, she sneered.

“Oh, yeah?” she asked, leaning forward herself to gain back some of the ground she had lost. “Whatcha gonna do about it, pretty boy.” 

Potter grinned at her and whispered, “This.” He blew a thin stream of air into her face. Pansy shut her eyes and leaned back some more. When he had gotten in her face, she had leaned so far back that all she needed was that extra bit of help to send her toppling off her broom with a shriek. She was no more than a few feet off the ground so the only thing that was badly injured was her pride.

Madame Hooch looked up from where she was fixing the stance and grip of a Hufflepuff. “What’s going on here?” she asked, walking over to the Slytherins. Pansy had tears in her eyes as she sat up on the ground.

Blaise answered first. “Pansy fell off her broom.”

Pansy glared at him. “I did not! Potter pushed me.”

“I never touched you,” growled Potter.

“You made me fall off!” retorted Pansy.

“Enough!” shouted Madame Hooch. She glared at all the Slytherins. “Mr. Malfoy,” she said. “Let’s start with you. What did you see?”

Draco took a moment to think. He could help Pansy, who was one of his information sources, or he could help Ashi, who was becoming more and more valuable to him every day.

“Pansy was trying to get a rise out of Ashi and he flew up to her to get her to stop and she fell off.”

Madame Hooch glared at Draco. “Did Mr. Potter push Miss Parkinson?”

Draco shook his head. “As far as I can tell, he never touched her.”

Madame Hooch looked around at the Slytherins again. “Does everyone agree with Mr. Malfoy’s story?”

Daphne spoke up, “But ma’am. He got so close to her that Nott and I weren’t able to see whether he pushed her or not.”

“I could see just fine. Ashi’s hands never left his broom,” interjected Blaise.

“That doesn’t count!” shouted Pansy from the ground. “You’re his friend. You could be lying to save him.”

Blaise leaned down at her coolly. “Am I lying, Pansy?” He sent her his most charming grin. For as long as he could remember, Pansy had had a crush on him and he wasn’t afraid to use it. She didn’t know he knew about the crush and he was perfectly happy to keep it that way.

Pansy’s cheeks reddened. “No,” she mumbled.

Madame Hooch looked down at Pansy. “So, Miss Parkinson, you are saying that you fell off your broom on your own? That Mr. Potter didn’t push you?”

Pansy hesitated for a moment, remembering Blaise’s grin. “Yes, ma’am,” she said as she stood up.

Madame Hooch studied Pansy for a few seconds, trying to determine the truth, but if Pansy didn’t admit to being pushed, there was nothing Hooch could do to prove otherwise. She looked at her watch. 

“Very well,” she said before she turned around to face the rest of her students. “That’s all we’ll do today, but you have access to the school’s brooms whenever you have a free period. There are some of you that need practice. Please come find me if any of you need help. Now, before you all go running off, please put your brooms away there,” she pointed to a small shed connected to one of the quidditch bleachers.

The students began landing their brooms and filing off to the shed. Pansy plucked her broom out of the air and followed the Hufflepuffs with Thomas, Daphne, and Millicent by her side. She was fuming. Not only had she not gotten an answer out of Potter, but she had been humiliated by him.

“Just you wait, Potter,” she muttered under her breath as she watched him wait with Blaise and Draco for the crowd of students to thin. “I’ll make you pay for that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. I need some help. I've backed myself into a corner: I don't have any idea of a villain for Ashi to face besides Voldemort. Actually, that's not entirely true. I do have one idea, but with no one to bounce it off of, I don't know if it's good or not. Anyone interested in becoming a co-author or beta for this story? Or maybe just throwing out some ideas?
> 
> EDIT: 7/12/18  
> I just finished the broom scene, but it turned out shorter than I wanted so I just tacked it on here. Sorry for the confusion, but yay! More chapter! I marked where I added more chapter with a BEGIN EDIT for your convenience. Happy reading!


	18. Forbidden Room

_Previously on_ What If:

The students began landing their brooms and filing off to the shed. Pansy plucked her broom out of the air and followed the Hufflepuffs with Nott and Daphne by her side. She was fuming. Not only had she not gotten an answer out of Potter, but she had been humiliated by him.

"Just you wait, Potter," she muttered under her breath as she watched him wait with Blaise and Draco for the crowd of students to thin. "I'll make you pay for that."

* * *

Ashi hadn't forgotten about Dumbledore's third-floor-corridor room, but he never found a chance to explore it, much to his chagrin. He was tempted to ask his pack to check it out for him, but he worried it would make him seem cowardly, using his homework as an excuse to avoid danger. His pack would do it for him, of course, but they would forever tease him for being the scared little puppy. He was still young, but he was tired of being treated like a cub. Hopefully, Hogwarts would give him the chance to prove to his pack that he was an adult.

One night, a few weeks before Halloween, Ashi got his chance to see the forbidden room. He was to meet his pack that night for another feeding. By now, they had established a territory with the other animals in the forest nearby so they were able to get away with only hunting once a week, leaving the kill hidden for Ashi to visit whenever he needed. The rest of the pack had so little to do that they hardly needed to eat more than their weekly hunting. They spent the rest of the time exploring the forest and the nearby village of Hogsmeade.

That night, Ashi had waited until his roommates had fallen asleep, as usual, before sneaking through the halls. Over the course of his wanderings, he had found the fastest way from the dungeons to the forest, but it involved passing by several classrooms. He didn't like how the heavy wooden doors muffled all but the loudest sounds from his ears so he didn't go that way very much. But he was hungry and tired tonight and wanted to eat and sleep as soon as he could. In his hurry, and after becoming used to no seeing, smelling, or hearing anyone, even the notorious cat Mrs. Norris (whom Ashi had heard tall tales about but had never seen), he neglected to keep his senses on alert.

As he rounded a corner, he ran into another body. They both took a step backward from the impact and Ashi immediately went into an attack stance. He was taken aback when he saw who it was he had run into.

"Ronald Weasley?" he asked, a little too loudly in his surprise.

Ron was holding his nose and groaning, squeezing his eyes shut with the pain. He answered before he saw who it was he was talking to. "Yeah, it's me. Keep it down, would you?"

Ron raised his head. "You?!" he nearly shouted.

Ashi lunged forward and clamped a hand around Ron's mouth.

"Shut up," he hissed. "Or we'll both be in trouble."

Ron nodded and Ashi removed his hand.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ron.

Ashi crossed his arms like he was a Professor that was being asked a dumb question.

"Taking a midnight stroll," he said dryly. "What about you?"

Ron hesitated, fidgeting in place before he answered reluctantly, "I…Malfoy challenged me to a duel. Well…it was actually me that challenged him. He tripped me in the hall and I wanted to get back at him."

Ashi raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Malfoy did?"

Ron nodded.

"But he's not even awake," said Ashi. "How's he gonna duel you?"

"He's what?!" shouted Ron. "Why that little-!"

Ashi clapped his hand over Ron's mouth again and shushed violently at him to keep him from making more noise. Ron got the message and Ashi removed his hand.

"He told me to meet him right here. If he's chickened out or set me up, I'll—" started Ron.

"You'll what, Weasley?" asked Draco snidely as he rounded the corner behind Ashi, "Call Mommy and set the whole pack to gang up on me? Hi, Ashi."

Ashi nodded his greeting. "Great," he said. "Now that you're both here, I'll just be on my way."

He turned to leave but Draco put his hand on Ashi's shoulder. "Wait a minute. Now that you're here, you could referee us."

"Him?!" asked Ron incredulously. "But he's Slytherin and a traitor. He'll be biased against me."

Ashi raised an eyebrow.

Draco chuckled. "He couldn't be biased against someone if his own mother's life was at stake."

Ron crossed his arms stubbornly. "Why should I believe you?"

Neither of the Slytherins honored that question with a response. The three students stared at each other silently for a few seconds.

"You know what?" said Ashi tersely, "I've got better things to do if you're both just going to stand here and squabble." He turned to leave.

"Wait," relented Ron. "At least there'll be someone to catch Malfoy in his tricks."

Draco sucked in a breath through his nose. "How dare you," he said sharply. "I don't have to use any tricks against someone as inexperienced as you."

"We'll see about that," growled Ron.

"Enough," sighed Ashi. "Let's get on with this. Where are we doing it?"

Ron pointed down the hall Ashi and Draco had come from. "Fred and George said there's a big classroom that's down here that they haven't used for years. We can go there."

Ashi and Draco stepped away from each other, waiting for Ron to lead the way. Ron didn't move.

"I'm not going to turn my backs to Slytherins," he said. "You might attack me."

Ashi rolled his eyes and Draco scowled.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," groaned Draco, "How are we going to get there if you're the only one who knows where it is?"

Ron pouted as he realized Draco was right. "Fine. But you have to walk beside me, not behind."

He stepped between them and they started off down the hall. It was only just barely big enough for them to walk abreast and thankfully there were no statues in this particular corridor. They reached the end of the corridor and Ron pointed.

"They said it was the third door down that way," he said.

Ashi stepped forward, eager to be finished with this business, but stopped short. The other two boys stopped behind him.

"Ashi?" asked Draco. "What's wrong."

"Shh," said Ashi. They were silent for a few seconds while Ashi listened. Far down the hall they were about to turn to, Ashi could just barely hear someone muttering, "This way, my pretty? Naughty students out of bed? Don't worry. We'll catch them."

"It's Filtch," hissed Ashi and began herding his companions back down the corridor.

Ron turned pale. He turned on his heel and would have started sprinting loudly down the hall, but Ashi managed to catch the back of his robes just in time. He pulled Ron into the nearest classroom which thankfully had a second door that led into another corridor. Draco followed them through, carefully closing the door behind them. Now that they had a bit of soundproofing between them and Filch, they moved faster, dodging the desks as they made their way to the other door which was kitty-corner to the first.

Ashi was just closing the door when he heard the other one unlatch. He gestured to his companions and they sprinted down the new hallway. They were coming to one of the main halls which were lit by more torches than the lesser-used ones which they had been traveling all this time. They barreled around another corner, heedless of who could be there. They managed to run a few more steps before Ron stopped, Ashi soon after him. Draco stopped a second later and looked at them questioningly.

Neither boy answered, but Ron pointed ahead of them. Ahead of them, the corridor ended and branched off in either direction in a T. Plastered on the wall of the left hall was a shadow, which was quickly shrinking into the vague shape of a cat, followed closely by a human-shaped shadow. Ron panicked and opened the nearest door, herding the others into it.

Instead of another classroom, as Ashi was expecting, they were in one of the armor rooms. Silent knights donned with a myriad of weapons surrounded them, seeming to glare disapprovingly at them. The boys paid no heed as they frantically searched for another exit.

"Nice going, Weasley," sneered Draco. "You've got us trapped."

"Wait. I know this room. Fred and George showed me a hidden passage here. It's…right…here!"

Ron pushed a stone behind one of the knights and the armor slowly moved to the side. The boys squeezed through before it was entirely open. The knight slid back into position almost as soon as it had stopped opening. The boys sprinted down the passage in complete darkness. Thankfully, Draco managed to light his wand before they had reached the other end so they didn't run into the wall.

Ron searched frantically up and down the walls until he found the stone he was looking for and pushed it. Another knight moved aside for them to pass. As soon as they were out, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Do…you…think we…lost them?" panted Ron.

Ashi straightened and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, which was doing so more out of fear of being caught than the physical exertion. "I don't know," he said as he looked around. Discreetly, he sniffed the air and tried to listen past the blood rushing through his ears. He cursed under his breath. "No," he hissed. "Footsteps. Go that way."

The three students sprinted down the hall again. They continued their cat-and-mouse game with Filch for a long while, cutting through classrooms and sprinting up and down stairs, turning whichever direction the caretaker and his cat weren't whenever one of them heard, saw, or, in Ashi's case, smelled them. Finally, Ron had enough. He stopped, panting hard, after they reached the top of the latest staircase.

"E…nuff," he slurred. "Can't…run…any…more."

The other two nodded. They were exhausted and wanted this stupid game to end. Ashi looked around. He had no idea where they were, but if they found a locked room to hide in, Filtch might not think to look for them in there. The staircase they had just climbed branched off in two directions. The one to the left led to a long hallway with lots of doors. The one to the right was much shorter and only had one door before ending in a wall. Ashi led them to the latter hall.

He tried to open the lone door. Locked. Perfect. Ashi pulled out his wand. They had just learned the spell he needed.

"Alohamora," he whispered. The lock clicked and Ashi turned the handle and quickly pushed his companions through the door, closing it softly behind them. Draco and Ron were doubled over, trying to muffle their loud panting by covering their mouths with their hands. Ashi took a few seconds to control his own breathing before putting his ear to the door.

He could hear footsteps, faintly at first, but getting louder as they climbed the stairs. They paused at the top of the stairs before turning away from the room they had chosen to hide in. Ashi breathed a quiet sigh of relief and turned his back to the door, closing his eyes and sinking down to the floor, exhausted.

"I think we lost him," said Ashi.

Draco wheezed out a laugh. "Nice going, Ashi," he said once he managed to catch his breath enough to speak without pausing.

Ron was still panting too hard to do or say anything. Draco stretched his arms over his head.

"Whoo," he said. "I haven't had a workout like that in a while."

Ashi chuckled and opened his eyes. "Yeah. Me—" Ashi froze as he saw what was just in front of them.

Draco looked at him, puzzled as to why Ashi had stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, then turned his head to follow Ashi's gaze. Draco's whole body stiffened in horror. He didn't move for a few seconds, then slowly started inching his way back to the door, which was only a few steps away.

Ron raised his head from between his knees and looked at them, still too tired to attempt speech. He looked at them, then turned his head glance at what they were looking at, then looked back at them. He froze as his brain caught up to what his eyes had seen. Slowly, Ron swiveled his head back at the…thing that was watching them.

A huge three-headed dog, bigger than even some of the dragons Ashi had seen, growled at them. It was so quiet that Ashi had to strain his ears, even in the intense silence that permeated the room, to hear what it was saying.

"Intruders," it whispered. "Intruders. My room. My room. My home. Away. Go away." It was starting to growl louder now. "My room. My bed. My Food. MY HOME." It barked this last word loudly at them.

Instinctively, Ashi barked back at it, "QUIET!"

It went silent, just now noticing that one of the intruders was not a human as it had first thought, but a wolf. Ashi continued.

"We're not here to stay," growled Ashi. "We'll be gone in a few minutes."

There was silence again for a few seconds before the three-headed dog opened its mouth to speak silently to the wolf.

"You. You. Why you here?" it asked, apparently not quite intelligent enough to speak properly.

"Hiding," said Ashi simply. "Bad man outside."

"Bad man? Bad man? Where? Attack bad man!" It started growling again, instinctively wanting to protect both its home and this special being in its presence.

Ashi growled back at it again. "No! Bad man go away. We stay here little while."

The dog growled one last time before bobbing all three of its heads in acknowledgment before turning to lay down on the huge bed in one corner of the room.

Ashi sighed as he watched the dog lie down. He dropped his head his chest exhaustedly.

"Ashi? What did you do?" whispered Draco.

Ashi cursed under his breath. He had forgotten about the two humans. He raised his head to look at them. They were both still frozen where they were.

"I've always been good with dogs," he said.

"But…but…you growled at it," stammered Ron.

"Yeah. I…uh…I've noticed that if you growl like that at most defensive dogs, they back down. See you're not a threat."

They stared at each other for a little while before Ashi patted the ground beside him like he had seen other humans do.

"Why don't you come sit down," he said nervously. "Just…don't make any sudden movements."

Draco and Ron both looked back at the three-headed dog that was staring at them from the other side of the very small room. Draco began inching his way toward Ashi again. Ron followed. Once they reached the wall, they each put their backs to the wall and sat on the floor, one on each side of Ashi. They were silent for a long time, Ashi resting while the other two stared at the three-headed dog, waiting for it to attack. The dog stared right back at them, watching them for any threat, whether to them or from them.

"Sooo," whispered Draco. "How did you know that that growl would work on this thing?"

"I…didn't," said Ashi slowly, considering how he would phrase his answer. "But it worked on regular dogs, so why not give it a try."

Draco nodded as if he understood. "Makes sense. I guess."

"Makes him a weirdo if you ask me," said Ron.

Draco glared at him. "He's no more of a weirdo than you are. What with your huge family and parents that barely earn enough to feed you, let alone clothe you."

Ron turned bright red and started to get up. "Why you—"

"Enough," said Ashi. His statement was emphasized by a low growl from the dog. Ron froze. "You can quibble like children later, but now we need to be quiet," continued Ashi.

Ron glared at the Slytherins but relented and slowly lowered himself back to the floor. They were silent for a long while, each exhausted and loath the awaken the giant dog. Finally, Ashi thought they had waited long enough; surely Filch had given up finding them by now. But he wanted to know something before they left.

"Ron," he said quietly. Ron's head jerked up and blinked around blearily. He had probably been asleep or close to it.

"Huh?" he asked then yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Why do you avoid me now? You seemed to be comfortable enough with me on the train. What changed?" Ashi knew of the Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry and he understood that some kids on both sides deserved to be disliked and avoided because of their attitudes, but he wanted to hear from Ron's own lips why he thought he should avoid Ashi simply because they weren't in the same house.

"What? Well—um," Ron stuttered, suddenly aware how childish the opinions of his parents, the Gryffindors, most of the students, and most of the wizarding community were. He had been told Slytherins were sneaky, conniving little snakes, willing to stab anyone in the back if the outcome was profitable to themselves. Draco certainly seemed to live up to that stereotype, but Ashi…Ashi was something else. True, he was cunning and smart, but he was also brave and kind and, according to an unreliable source, couldn't be biased enough to save his own mother.

Ron dropped his head to his knees and was silent for a few seconds. He really didn't want to say it out loud, but he had a feeling that that was exactly what Ashi was waiting for.

"Come on, Weasley," sneered Draco. "Tell him why you don't want to be friends anymore."

Ron was too ashamed of himself and his family to retort. Ashi just glared at Draco. Draco's smile disappeared and he dropped his eyes.

Ron sighed and relented. "'Cause everyone told me to."

"…Do you agree with them?" asked Ashi.

Ron shrugged. "I guess I never really thought about it. I just went along."

Ashi nodded and stood up, stretching the stiffness out of his arms. Ron and Draco looked up at him.

"That's it?" teased Draco. "No inspirational speech about how you should think for yourself?"

Ashi looked down at Ron. "Do you need one?" he asked.

"No. I guess not. You're right though, er, I'm right…whatever. I shouldn't be just following along with everyone. It's just that it's so…"

"Easy?" finished Ashi. Ron nodded. Ashi continued, "Most things have to struggle to live, to find food and water and protection. We have it easy; we don't have to struggle so hard. We have learned to expect ease when it comes to life and are uncomfortable when life becomes hard."

"There it is," said Draco. "There's the inspirational speech."

Ashi's cheeks tinted red. "Whatever," he said. "Let's just go."

Ron and Draco stood up next to him. The three-headed dog lifted its heads to look at them but didn't get up. Ashi made eye contact with it and tilted his head toward the door, silently indicating to it that they were leaving. The heads lay back down, but the eyes didn't close. Ashi turned around to the door and put his ear next to the keyhole. He listened for a few seconds and, when he didn't hear anything, slowly turned the nob and opened the door a few inches.

Ashi peered through the crack, looking for movement. He opened the door wider to look further down the hall. Nothing.

"Come on, Ashi," groaned Draco. "If he was there, he would have seen us by now."

Ashi glared at him but relented and opened the door all the way. The other two boys tip-toed out and started back to their respective Houses. Ashi closed the door behind them, whispering a silent, "Thank you," to the dog. He locked the door and followed Draco down the stairs.

Draco and Ashi got back to their room with time enough to catch a few hours of sleep before their first classes. Not that it helped much. Both Ashi and Draco got in trouble in Potions and in DADA for falling asleep that morning. Thankfully, they had double History of Magic in the afternoon and got to sleep some more without anyone noticing anything out of the ordinary.

Ashi didn't dare sneak outside that night; Filch would no doubt be on guard. If he was very careful, he might be able to get out the next night, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! There she is. Hope you like it :)
> 
> OK. I've finally figured out how to make my in-story ANs bolded, so there'll be no more confusion (not that anyone's mentioned any confusion yet, but still...). 
> 
> Don't have a whole lot to talk about tonight. I will mention, though, that by the time I'm done with this Sorcerer's Stone arc, Ashi will have quite the gaggle of friends. You might have noticed him already working on biased Ron. Blaise (my Blaise at least) is a naturally friendly guy and Draco just likes how useful Ashi is (*cough* helps with homework *cough*). Hermione will show up soon, not sure when though. I'm too busy to come up with a plan after the next chapter. :P
> 
> Hope y'all have a good back-to-school experience! See you next time!


	19. Friendship

_Previously on_ What If _:_

_Draco and Ashi got back to their room with time enough to catch a few hours of sleep before their first classes. Not that it helped much. Both Ashi and Draco got in trouble in Potions and in DADA for falling asleep that morning. Thankfully, they had double History of Magic in the afternoon and got to sleep some more without anyone noticing anything out of the ordinary._

_Ashi didn't dare sneak outside that night; Filch would no doubt be on guard. If he was very careful, he might be able to get out the next night, though._

* * *

" _Wouldn't they consider something like a giant three-headed dog to be a threat to the safety of their students_?" asked Toboe after Ashi had finished telling them about the third-floor corridor.

The wolves were basking in the moonlight in small clearing in the area of the forest they had claimed as their own, not that they had met any other predatory animals they had to confirm their claim to yet. Ashi shifted his paw and reached down to tear off and chew another piece of a rabbit he had managed to find on his way here.

" _Depends on if it's trained or not. Don't you remember that circus we saw one time? They had tigers and things. I'd consider those pretty dangerous, but they had 'em doing tricks, jumping through hoops_ ," answered Hige.

" _Did you get to ask it what it was doing there_?" asked Toboe.

Ashi shook his head. " _I was pushing it telling it why we were in its room. I had two humans with me, remember?_ "

" _Do you think you could make it back to talk to it again_?" asked Kiba.

" _Maybe. It might be a while, though. Filch'll still be scouring the halls looking for students after what we pulled_."

" _We could distract him for you. Maybe_ —" started Hige.

" _NO!_ " barked Ashi, then composed himself. " _That'll just make it worse. Then the professors will be roaming the halls as well. He'll settle down in a few days_."

" _There's one question no one's bothered to answer yet: is the dog dangerous_?" asked Tsume.

Ashi turned to look at him, snapping up another piece of rabbit. " _Well, yeah,_ " he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. " _Aren't all dogs dangerous in one way or another_?"

Tsume glared at him. Ashi ducked his head and answered, " _It could be, but he seemed to want to warn us first, rather than attack_."

" _Maybe its somebody's pet_ ," said Hige.

" _Must be one of the professors' then, because there's no way a student would be able to smuggle that thing in without anyone noticing. Actually, now that I think about it, Professor Dumbledore said something about the third-floor corridor when we first came. That's probably where we were, but I wasn't paying attention_ ," said Ashi.

" _Shame on you, Brat, for not paying attention to your surroundings_ ," teased Hige.

Ashi huffed at him. " _I'd like to see you try navigating that castle without getting lost…Porky_."

Hige lunged from his spot in front of Ashi and tackled him. They rolled around on the forest floor, growling, clawing, and snapping at each other in mock battle.

Toboe lay his head on his paws as he watched them. " _Hey, Kiba?_ " he muttered. Kiba turned his head to look at Toboe. " _Can we go check out the dog for Ashi? I wanna see this castle he's talked so much about._ "

" _You sure you're just not worried for the pup_?" teased Tsume. " _He's better at defending himself than you are._ "

Toboe growled. " _Yes, I'm sure_."

" _Yeah. Let's go. It'll give us something to do_ ," interrupted Kiba.

Toboe parted his lips in a wolfish grin, then stood up to join in Hige and Ashi's fun.

* * *

That night Ashi slept with his pack. The next day was Saturday, so he didn't need to worry about getting up too early. When he finally did get up, he simply sneaked out of the forest and joined a group of students walking across the grounds. He stayed close enough to be considered part of the group by bystanders, but far enough away to not be included in the conversation. His distinctly muggle clothes threw a slight loop in his plan, but there were several other Muggle-born wizards that liked the wear their more comfortable clothes on the weekends so he didn't stand out too much.

Ashi separated himself once the group reached one of the outdoor corridors and continued on to the Great Hall. He spotted Draco and Blaise at their usual places, picking at the remains of breakfast on their plates. At least half of the student body was still asleep so Ashi had no trouble finding a spot near his friends.

Blaise looked up as Ashi sat down across from him. "Hey, Ashi," he greeted around a mouthful of eggs. "Where you been?"

Ashi pulled a bowl of fruit over and spooned a few strawberries onto his plate. "Took a walk. Didn't feel like being the only one eating breakfast."

"But I thought you liked being alone," said Draco.

"Being alone somewhere outside or in the library is one thing. Being alone in a giant room and reminding everyone of my existence is another."

"Man, you really don't like attention," laughed Blaise. "But you do realize that you're the only Slytherin that wears Muggle clothes, don't you? So you're kind of sticking out anyway."

Ashi moaned silently; he hadn't thought of that. "Yes, but it's not as bad as it would be if I were discovered by myself in here."

"Hnn. You've got a point." Blaise watched Ashi bite off half of one of his strawberries. He looked down at his own plate and pushed the rest of his eggs to one side before he looked up again. "Hey, um, why don't you ever eat anything?"

Ashi glanced up, still chewing, and raised one of his eyebrows, waiving around the other half of the strawberry on his fork.

"No. I mean…I've never seen you eat anything other than that."

Ashi squinted at them, slightly worried, and swallowed. "Course I eat stuff other than this."

Blaise dropped his head in defeat and muttered under his breath for a second before looking back up. "No. I mean you hardly eat anything at all. Even Draco eats more than you do, especially after we started those you-know-whats."

"Yeah? And?"

"Well, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

Blaise groaned, dropping his hands dramatically on the table with a thump. Draco jumped in, "God, Ashi. Why are you so dense? I have to spell everything out for you. How are you able to survive on so little food?"

The corner of one side of Ashi's mouth twitched. He shrugged. "Just do."

"What? How? That shouldn't be possible. You know how to get to the kitchens or something?" asked Blaise.

Ashi shook his head, finishing off the rest of his strawberries and looking around the table for something else edible. He eyed the eggs carefully but had never really liked eggs to begin with, never mind them being cooked, so he dismissed them and continued searching.

"No. Never been to the kitchens before."

Blaise drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for a more elaborate answer. He lasted five seconds before he slapped his hand noisily on the table and huffed, "Fine. Don't tell me. I give up. I'll just maintain my opinion that you are officially weird." Ashi smiled at him.

"Okay. Enough about that," said Draco. "It's the weekend. We've got two whole days before we have to worry about school again. What are we going to do?"

Ashi shrugged. "I've still got that potions essay to finish, so I was going to work on that. I also need to do some research on something Professor Flitwick said in class."

Blaise's mouth dropped. "You're working on the essay?! He just gave that to us yesterday and it's not due until week after next."

Ashi tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Yes, but after this week, everyone will be in the library trying to finish it. Who else will be in the library today?"

"Hnn. You've got a point, but I still think you're nuts. We only have two days off out of every seven. Why waste it doing _school_ , especially when it's something we'll be able to do when we don't have time off?"

"What else is there to do?" asked Ashi, genuinely curious. As a wolf, he had never really had free time. They were always worrying about food or shelter or territory. Ashi was actually becoming quite bored at Hogwarts. Sure he had tons of homework all the time, but that kind of work was starting to get old. At least when the pack was roaming the countryside, he had a change of scenery.

Blaise thought for a moment. "Well, we could play a game of quidditch. Or go tease some Hufflepuffs about something. Hey, I've got a Wizard's Chess board if you want to play that!"

Ashi tilted his head. "What is Wizard's Chess?"

Blaise floundered for a bit, gesturing with his hands as he struggled to come up with a description. "It's…it's like, uhm…like muggle chess, but the pieces move."

"What is muggle chess?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," cried Draco, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up. "Let's just show him."

Ashi and Blaise looked at each other and stood up as well.

* * *

"No, Ashi," moaned Blaise, dropping his head into his hands. They had moved to the Slytherin common room to play their game and Blaise was having the worst and best time of his life. Blaise was fairly good at Wizard's Chess, but he had a bad habit of choosing equally good, if not better, players to pit himself against. Ashi was having such a hard time understanding the rules that Blaise barely had to try. That being said, they hadn't even finished their first game and it was already almost time for lunch. That was how hard it was to make Ashi see that the rules of the chess didn't necessarily follow what would have been logical in real life.

"That piece can only move two spaces forward the first time," continued Blaise. "For the rest of the game, it can only move one space at a time."

"That's an odd rule," commented Ashi. "Why should it only be the first move? Any soldier gets stronger the longer he trains, not the other way around."

"Look, this isn't about training, Ashi," explained Draco, looking up from his book. "Those are just the rules of the game. And the pieces won't follow directions that contradict the rules."

Ashi grumbled, then ordered the pawn to move forward only one space.

"Bishop to F4," declared Blaise. The black bishop moved diagonally one space. "Checkmate."

"What?" asked Ashi. "How?"

"Your pawns are blocking the king's exit," explained Draco, setting the book down on the table in front him and leaning forward to examine the chessboard. "And if the king moves this way, the rook down here will get him. If he moves down here, the bishop will get him. There's no way for you to get the king out alive, so it's a checkmate. You lose."

"What if I move him over here?" asked Ashi.

"You can't do that," huffed Blaise. "The king can only move one space at a time in any direction that's not blocked by another piece."

"Why's that?" asked Ashi. "In a real battle the soldiers would be scrambling out of the way to get the king to safety."

"But this isn't the real world, Ashi," repeated Draco for the tenth time. "It's a game and games have rules the players have to follow."

"So do real battles," countered Ashi. "The armies have to follow the rules of physics."

"Yes, but games are meant to be harder, to challenge the mind," continued Draco. "Chess was originally invented to teach young nobles how to battle under restrictions. That way they would be able to excel once they got on a battlefield with none of those restrictions. The rest of us continue to follow those rules because we're too lazy to change them. They've been ingrained in our society for hundreds of years. Why should we change them now?"

Ashi mulled over that for a minute. "Alright, fine," he finally said. "Let's play again."

"Uh uh," blurted Blaise. "Not until after lunch. If we start now, I won't get anything to eat until dinner. I can't wait that long."

Ashi huffed in disappointment, then relented. "Fine. Let's go to lunch then."

The three boys got out of their chairs and headed toward the chamber door with Ashi leading. As soon as he was fairly sure Ashi wouldn't hear, Blaise leaned over to Draco.

"Was that really why chess was invented?" he whispered.

"I dunno," replied Draco. "I just said that so he would shut up."

Blaise grinned. "Nice job, mate. I actually half-believed you, but I thought it was a little strange that you knew so much about the history of chess when you can barely stay awake in History of Magic."

"Shut up," growled Draco and shoved Blaise out the door. Blaise fell down the step out of the common room laughing.

"What is so funny?" asked Ashi. He had heard their whisperings clearly enough, but he had a feeling that normal humans would be able to hear such low volumes.

"Nothin'" snapped Draco. "Just…never mind. Blaise is being an idiot again."

"What?!" shrieked Blaise. "No, I'm not. You—"

"That's exactly what an idiot would say," teased Draco. "You're trying to push it off to me."

"No, I'm not," tried Blaise. "You're the one that's trying to push it off."

"Oh, that's really smooth. You can't think of anything else to say?"

"Just…never mind. I'm never gonna win against you."

Draco smiled. "That's right. And don't you forget it Zabini."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure," muttered Blaise.

Ashi chucked softly. These two never ceased to entertain him.

* * *

By the time they were finished with lunch, Blaise had made it abundantly clear that he was too tired to do anything more that afternoon. So he left Draco and Ashi to their own devices while he went back to their room to take a nap.

"So…what do you want to do now?" asked Draco as he watched Blaise walk away.

Ashi shrugged. "I suppose we should go finish our essays now." He turned on his heel and set off toward the library. Draco stared at him for a few seconds, looked back to Blaise, then followed Ashi down the hall. He didn't really feel like doing more school that day, but he didn't have anything else to do and he might be able to get Ashi to hand over his essay for Draco to examine; purely for research purposes, of course.

They walked silently through Hogwarts, up one set of stairs and down another. When they walked through the doorway of the library, Madame Pince peeked her eyes over the cover of her book to glare at them. Draco opened his mouth, presumably to greet her, but she interrupted him by putting her finger to her lips and hissing out a sharp, "Shhhh." Draco shut his mouth and fixed his eyes forward.

He had heard about the extremely strict librarian from the other Slytherins, but hadn't ever met her; he hadn't ever found a reason to go to the library so far. Ashi, on the other hand, very much enjoyed spending whatever free time he had perusing the shelves for new and interesting information about the wizarding world. He hadn't really met Madame Pince either, simply noticed her on the way in and out of the library.

Ashi led Draco through the room to the Charms section and immediately started pulling books down that he knew held the information he needed. Draco shifted on his feet, staring at the huge shelves.

"Hey, Ashi," he said. "What…exactly where we supposed to write the essay about?"

**"** Why Wingardium Leviosa doesn't work on objects heavier than one ton," said Ashi.

"Oh. I, uh, forgot my parchment, though," said Draco, beginning to back away.

"I've got some here," replied Ashi as he reached into his robes and pulled out a thick roll of parchment as well as a quill and ink bottle and set them on the nearby table.

"Oh," muttered Draco. "Perfect. Thanks." Unable to think of any other excuses to procrastinate the essay any longer, Draco sighed and stepped up to the shelves to search for a title that seemed like it would help him.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, pulling down several books and flipping through them. Some they put back and others they added to a growing pile on their table. Once they had about ten books, they each took a seat, picked up a book, and began scribbling down any information they thought would be useful.

Soon enough, Draco became bored and was starting to fall asleep. His head bobbed up and down a few times before it rested on the tabletop, his arms still grasping the book propped in front of him.

Ashi looked up from his own book when he heard a soft snore and held back a laugh at Draco's ridiculous position. It almost looked like he was trying to fake studying but was doing a horrible job at it. Ashi continued to take notes, enjoying the limited privacy and silence the library provided.

Ashi was almost through flipping through the book, writing down all information he believed relevant to his essay, when the silence was broken by hushed voices. Ashi ignored them at first, but became more interested as he realized they were getting closer. He turned another page and began scanning the words just as two students rounded the corner to his and Draco's aisle, still whispering and clutching a few books and writing supplies to their chests.

The pair stopped short when they noticed the Slytherins, but the girl immediately smiled and strode forward to the table. Her companion stayed where he was, shifting his weight and glancing nervously at the shelves.

"Hi, Ashi," whispered the girl.

"Hello, Hermione," replied Ashi in an equally hushed voice as he closed the book and set it next to the pile of unread ones. Draco was still asleep behind his book.

"What are you doing here today? I thought you would have been doing something else with your friends today," continued Hermione.

Ashi shook his head. "Couldn't think of anything to do. Blaise is asleep at the dorm and Draco and I are working on the charms essay, but—" He broke off and gestured at his study partner.

Hermione leaned to the side to look at Draco just as he let out a particularly loud snore. She stifled a giggle before neutralizing her face. "Oh. That's what Neville and I were going to do, but maybe we'll do something else. I don't think…Draco will be very happy when he wakes up to see us here."

"Why?" asked Ashi, tilting his head. He straightened a millisecond later when he remembered the House feud. "Oh. Nevermind. But you can still stay. You have just as much right as we do to be here. Besides, he won't do anything while he's like that." He gestured to Draco again.

Hermione thought about it for a few seconds. "Alright. But if he wakes up and makes a fuss, I'd rather just leave than get into a fight."

Ashi nodded in understanding and picked up another book. Hermione took a few steps to another nearby table and gestured for her friend to join her. He did, watching the Slytherins out of the corner of his eye as he passed.

"Ashi?" called Hermione.

Ashi looked up from his book.

"Have you met Neville?"

Ashi shook his head and put down the book. "No, I haven't." He had seen the other Gryffindors when they had classes with the Slytherins but didn't know anyone besides Hermione.

"Oh. Well, this is Neville Longbottom. He's a first year in Gryffindor."

"Hello, Neville," said Ashi, trying to look less intimidating as he smiled at the jittery boy.

Neville glanced at Hermione for reassurance, then turned back to Ashi. "Hi," he muttered. He went back to setting out his supplies.

Hermione shot Ashi an apologetic look before turning to her own studies. They lapsed into silence for the text hour. Every few minutes one of them would turn a page or scribble something down or Hermione and Neville would whisper, but otherwise there was complete silence. No other students were in the library. It was early enough in the school year that there weren't very many assignments and the due dates for the ones that had been given were far enough away that no one (except Hermione and Ashi and a few Ravenclaws) were worried about them.

By the time Draco's book fell out of his hands to the table and started the most awkward ordeal Ashi had ever experienced, they were all mostly done with the books and were working on the actually essay. The loud crack the book made when it hit the table made Ashi jump in surprise and woke Draco up with a start.

He looked blearily around until his gaze landed on Ashi, who was glaring at him. Draco immediately picked up the book again and pretended to read. Ashi's head went back down to the parchment and his quill started moving again. With the immediate threat neutralized, Draco looked over to investigate the movement to his right. He sneered when he saw who it was.

"Well, well," he drawled. "If it isn't the Mudblood and her blood-traitor friend."

All three students looked up.

"Draco," warned Ashi quietly.

"Couldn't find any other friends to hang out with so you're hiding in the library?" continued Draco.

"It's a school, Malfoy," said Hermione, timidly. "I have homework to do."

"Yeah," replied Draco scathingly. "It's a school for witches and wizards, not for Muggles that can perform sleight-of-hand."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but changed her mind and hid her face behind her book.

"Shut up, Draco. We have work to do," said Ashi.

"What did I do?" asked Draco. "I'm not the one stinking up the room just by being in it."

"That's—that's not nice, M-malfoy," stuttered Neville.

"We were doing just fine until you said something, Draco," added Ashi.

Draco laughed. "Oh, I'm sure. But I'll let you off this time because you haven't been around wizards very long, Ashi. Mudbloods are vermin, weaklings that somehow can do a little bit of magic. They only have magic because one of her ancestors was probably a wizard or witch that abandoned his kin to run off with some Muggle. The only reason any of them are allowed in Hogwarts is because we have spineless cowards for leaders."

"So what would you say I am, then?" asked Ashi scathingly. "Lily Potter was a muggle-born witch and James Potter married her. What does that make me? If Slytherin House is all about keeping the purebloods, why am I in it? I'm at least half muggle."

"I—" Draco cut himself off as he thought about it.

"Enough, Draco," said Ashi. "If you're going to do it to her, you might as well do it to me." He didn't wait for an answer. He quickly rolled up his parchment, corked his ink, and walked out of the library, leaving a stunned Draco and a staring Hermione and Neville.

Draco watched him go, then stood up himself. He glared at the Gryffindors. "What are you looking at?" he sneered. They both dipped their heads down into their books. "That's what I thought," Draco muttered and stormed away from the table.

Their books automatically started floating themselves back to their proper places on the shelves as soon as both boys had vacated the table. Hermione and Neville looked at each other worriedly before going back to their work.

* * *

Blaise and Draco didn't see Ashi for the next few days. He never showed up to the dorms at night or at the Great Hall for meals, at least not that either boy saw. A couple of times they caught a glimpse of him walking across the grounds, but he was gone before Blaise could convince Draco to go talk to him; Draco was still far to cross to consider making up with Ashi yet. On Monday, they saw him in class, but he was the last one in the door and the first one out.

By Wednesday night, Blaise had had enough. Draco was continuously sulking, even though his old friends had gradually congregated back to his side once Ashi was out of the picture, and Blaise didn't have anyone to joke around with (or help him with homework). He slammed his elbows down on the common room table he and Draco were studying at, dropping his head into his hands, and groaned.

A few other students looked up to see what the noise was about, but otherwise ignored them.

"I've had it!" proclaimed Blaise, jerking his head up to glare at Draco. "Enough of this. You're going to find Ashi and you're going to make up with him."

Draco gazed lazily at Blaise from across the table. "Why should I? He's the one that stormed off."

Blaise had to resist pulling out his hair in frustration. They had had this conversation several times; every one ended in a draw because the subject always disappeared before they could finish. "So what? You were the one that said that stuff, right?"

"Yeah, but he needed to know. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of Mudbloods and—"

"Well, neither do I!" shouted Blaise.

"That's because your prostitute mother doesn't seem to have enough presence of mind to teach you any history!" shouted Draco.

"You leave my mother out of this! That's none of your business!"

"And this isn't any of _your_ business! So stay out of it!"

"Fine. I will. Have fun with your stuck-up friends."

Blaise stood up and gathered his books. He shot Draco one last glare before marching up the stairs to the dorm room.

Draco drummed his fingers on the table angrily. Then he noticed how quiet the room had gotten and turned his glare to the students that were staring at him. "What?" he snapped.

The students awkwardly went back to their activities, filling the room with noise again, although of a considerably lower decibel level than before.

Draco sighed and dropped his head in his hands. After a few seconds, he ran his hands through his hair and began studying again. Even though his eyes skimmed the words and his hands turned pages, his mind was elsewhere. He stayed there for hours, staring at his books yet not really seeing them until all the other students had gone to bed. By the time Draco finally gathered his things and entered his dorm room, Blaise was in bed asleep.

When he saw the lump in Blaise's bed, Draco's eyes hardened and he renewed his determination to not give in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of friendship making, little bit of friendship breaking. Doesn't really have anything to do with the main plot line, but I needed to build up Draco, Blaise, and Ashi's friendship before the big reveal (can't have them abandoning him at the drop of a hat now, can I?) which should be soon. Another chapter or two...maybe. This is as far as I've written so far so we'll see how it goes. I'm one of those people that loves big reveals (and the best ones are dramatic and surprising with a bit of abandonment) so I'm trying to get there as fast as possible without sacrificing anything important. I also know that there are probably a few of you (although you haven't said anything) that want to see one of these self-defense training sessions. Don't worry. I'm getting there. That will probably happen next chapter. 
> 
> One more thing to note: Italics, besides the recap, are the wolves talking wolfish; ie, humans can't understand them but other animals can. I can't remember if I mentioned this before and I'm too lazy to look, so I'll just say it again. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -GH


	20. Chapter 20: Fight

_“Ashi, are you sure this is alright?”_ asked Toboe, shifting his head on the ground a little to look at the youngest member of their pack.

 _“It’s fine_ ,” said Ashi shortly. He never moved from his position against Tsume’s side. He didn’t even open his eyes to acknowledge Toboe.

Toboe glanced at Tsume then shifted his gaze to Kiba. _“But you’ve never stayed out here this long with us before. What if—”_

 _“I said it’s fine, Toboe! Drop it,”_ snapped Ashi, lifting his head and growling for emphasis.

 _“Ashi_ ,” rumbled Tsume warningly.

Ashi dropped his head back on his paws and closed his eyes again. _“Sorry…I just don’t want to talk about it.”_

 _“Aw, come on, Brat,”_ teased Hige. “ _What happened? Did some plant bite your tail when you weren’t looking?”_ His tail wagged back and forth on the ground as he eagerly expected the play fight that was sure to come.

Ashi didn’t answer, didn’t move. All four wolves stared at him in shock. Ashi never let one of them get away with teasing him. He always had some sharp comment or tooth ready to retaliate.

Hige’s ears drooped in worry and shame, but he stood up and walked the few steps to lay down on Ashi’s other side. “ _Come on, Pup. What’s wrong?”_

Ashi’s eyebrows shifted and his mouth turned down into a scowl. “ _Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it,”_ he grumbled.

 _“You can tell us, Ashi,”_ persuaded Toboe. “ _Let us help you.”_

 _“I said I don’t want to talk about it!”_ snapped Ashi, jumping up from his position and raising his hackles at his packmates. “ _So just drop it!”_ He growled again and stalked off into the forest.

The pack lay there for a few seconds, staring at where Ashi had disappeared. Simultaneously, Toboe, Hige, and Tsume’s heads turned to look at Kiba. He was in a sphynx-like position with his nose pointed to the sky as he basked in the moonlight. Slowly, he opened his eyes and returned his packmates’ gaze.

“ _What?”_ he asked.

“ _Well, aren’t cha gonna talk to him?”_ asked Hige.

“ _Yeah, Kiba,”_ piped Toboe. “ _He’ll listen to you._ ”

Tsume lay his head down on his paws and growled a bit. “ _And I’m tired of this sulky attitude of his. It’s been five days already. He can’t keep holding on to this. It’s driving me nuts.”_

They all stared at each other for half a minute before Kiba let out a huff through his nose and stood up. He stretched lazily and shook out his fur. With one last glare at his friends, Kiba padded into the forest where Ashi had gone. There was another small clearing not too far away and he suspected that’s where he would find the pup.

Sure enough, through the trees, Kiba spotted Ashi’s black form sitting smack dab in the middle of a circle of moonlight, staring up at the stars. Kiba silently stalked up next to him and sat down. He raised his nose and marveled in the beauty of the night sky.

He was silent for a few moments, then decided to get this over with. “ _You know, when the shaman decided it was time for me to begin my journey, I had no idea which way to go. But he told me the lunar flower would guide me to the first step on the path to Paradise. I didn’t realize until the next night that he was talking about the lunar flower pattern in the stars. That was the night I left and I followed those stars all the way to Freeze City.”_

 _“Yeah,”_ humphed Ashi _. “That’s where you met everyone else and then you all traveled to that island and met Zali and then went through the tunnels and ended up here. I know. I’ve heard that story.”_

Kiba looked down at Ashi. Ashi glared back up at him. _“But I don’t think you’ve grasped all of the lessons quite yet.”_

Ashi bared his teeth. _“How could I not?! That’s one of the only stories you guys have told me my entire life. What lesson is there that you haven’t told me about yet?”_

Kiba looked back at the stars and closed his eyes. “ _Very well. I’ll spell it out for you. When I began my journey, I listened to one who was wiser than I and he led me down the correct path. I was free to make my own path after that, but I soon realized that I needed to become more knowledgeable about the world outside the forest if I wanted to make wise decisions.”_

He lay down on the ground and watched Ashi out of the corner of his eye.

“ _Yeah? So? That’s why I’m going to this smelly school in the first place, isn’t it? So I can learn and make wise decisions,”_ mocked Ashi, staring down irately at his pack leader.

 _“Book knowledge can only take you so far,”_ continued Kiba. “ _When I left the shaman, I thought I knew everything I needed to about the world, but I had only experienced one piece of it: the forest. I had no idea how life in the city worked. That’s how I met Tsume. It should have been obvious to me that I was in another wolf’s territory, but there were so many new sights and sounds and smells that I never recognized the different ways city wolves marked territory.”_

Ashi lay down next to Kiba and looked intently up at him. Despite his complaints about how his packmates and guardians only told him a few stories, Ashi loved hearing about how Kiba traveled through wastelands to reach Freeze City, how he met and fought Tsume, how Hige helped free him, how Toboe changed his lifestyle from that of a pet to that of a wolf, and how they all managed to meet and decide to travel to Paradise together when the Flower Maiden had disappeared.

Kiba continued his explanation. “ _From the very beginning, Tsume and I fought about everything. I believed it my right to defend myself; he knew we needed to lie low in the city or risk being found out. He knew exactly where to get food while I was stuck scavenging hot dogs with Hige. When we left the city, he thought we should follow the trains and steal food from them. I knew our chances would be better if we followed game trails through the forests. The trains traveled through barren wastelands and if we ever lost them, we would starve as we struggled through the snow to the next city._

“ _When we reached the city, we still fought. Tsume believed Zali and his pack were right to do what they had to in order to survive. I thought there must have been another way,”_ Kiba bared his teeth and growled, “ _a way that didn’t require them to throw away the rest of their pride and didn’t send them to an early grave over a few meagre scraps.”_ Kiba’s lips folded back over his teeth and he contemplated his next sentence. “ _Over time, I realized that we were both right. We need to do what we have to in order to survive, but not so drastically that we die early anyway.”_

 _“But Zali was still a coward to make his pack work so hard while he stood by and watched,_ ” interrupted Ashi tartly.

Kiba looked down at the young wolf beside him. There was still so much for him to learn, both from books and from life. “ _That’s not the point, Pup. When I realized that Tsume was more knowledgeable in some things and I in others, I took the first step in forging the bond we have today. Now, Tsume has taught me everything he knows about city life and I have taught him everything I know about the wild lands. There are times when we don’t have to tell each other what we need or what to do. We know each other so well that as soon as one of us hesitates or falls, the other knows exactly what is needed.”_

The pair lay their heads on their paws together as Kiba finished his lecture. “ _It took us many years to get that far, but we would not be where we are if we had not stayed together and moved past our differences.”_ Kiba let out a soft chuckle. “ _Yes, there were times where we fought, times where we hated each other’s guts, but as we traveled, we realized that one could provide what the other needed. We just needed to tough it out.”_

They were silent for a few moments. Kiba closed his eyes and shifted a bit to a more comfortable position.

Beside him, Ashi slowly relaxed, then said, “ _Thank you, Kiba,”_ and snuggled closer. They fell asleep in the light of the half-moon, reveling in the warmth and comfort the other provided.

* * *

Despite Kiba’s pep talk, Ashi still avoided Draco the next day. It may have been Draco that caused the fight, but if neither of them was willing to suck up their pride, they would never speak to each other again. He struggled to think of a way to approach his new friend and mend the broken bond that had begun to form between them. He shot glances at Draco during class in an attempt to gauge Draco’s mood. It didn’t work; Draco had put on his mask of indifference again.

Ashi almost wilted. That meant Draco was either mad or returning to his ‘I’m perfect’ attitude he had had when Ashi first met him. He supposed that was only natural. As far as Ashi knew, he had been the only person that wasn’t trying to suck up to Draco and was actually trying to widen his view of the world.

Ashi sighed and ran his hand through his hair again as he stared at the textbook on the table in front of him. This was supposed to be his after-class study period, but his predicament with Draco had taken up all the room in his mind. He looked around to distract himself. The library was, as per usual, rather empty. All the other students were enjoying a few hours of free time before they decided to do their own homework.

Idly, Ashi watched one student, a fourth-year Ravenclaw, reach up and take a book from one of the shelves and flip through it. Movement from the main aisle caught his eye and he flicked his gaze over to see who it was. He perked up slightly when he saw Blaise meandering toward him. His friend shyly raised a hand and waved when he noticed Ashi watching him and Ashi waved back.

Blaise gently lowered himself into the chair across from Ashi and said, “Hi.”

“Hi,” replied Ashi.

They sat in silence, Ashi staring at Blaise and Blaise staring at the table. Finally, Blaise sighed.

“Look, Ashi. I need you to talk to Draco,” he said.

“I know,” said Ashi before Blaise could continue.

Blaise’s head jerked up in surprise. “Really? Then why haven’t you?”

Ashi looked at him dully.

“Oh. Right.”

Ashi leaned back in his chair and groaned, pulling at his hair. “I don’t know what to do, Blaise,” he said. “I’ve never had to deal with this from anyone other than my pa--family. And he’s the one that’s in the wrong.”

“Yeah, I know,” replied Blaise, equally frustrated. “But we have to do _something_. He’s becoming an insufferable prick again, and this time he’s even worse, if that’s possible.”

“What do you usually do when he’s like this?”

Blaise shrugged. “I dunno. Never had this problem before. Draco and I have known each other for years, but we hardly ever saw each other. I thought ‘insufferable prick’ was just the way he was. But then you changed him…or we did…or…Argh. I don’t know what happened, but I was really starting to like him. Ever since you left, he’s started to go back down his hole.” Blaise huffed through his nose hand hid his face in his hands. “He called my mother a prostitute last night,” he mumbled.

Ashi didn’t say anything. Blaise had told him about his mother’s various marriages.

Blaise continued. “He’s never done that before. He’d never do that before. What’s changed? We were doing so well. What happened?”

Ashi clenched his fists. This had to stop. It was one thing if Draco wanted to ruin his own life, but now he had started to push his spitefulness onto others, onto Blaise, and Ashi would not stand for that. The world had enough evil people in it without Draco being one of them. He stood up, pushing back his chair nosily.

Blaise jerked his head up in surprise. “What?” he asked.

“I’m going to go talk to him,” replied Ashi as he gathered his books and supplies and shoved them into his book bag.

“What, now?”

“Yes. I’m done feeling bad about this and he needs to stop being a spoilt child.” Ashi started walking away and Blaise scrambled to keep up with him.

“Yeah, but it’s almost dinner time. He’ll be with all his friends.”

“So? I’ll just have to do this in front of them.”

Blaise stopped dead and quirked an eyebrow at Ashi. “But I thought you hated audiences.”

Ashi stopped and looked back at Blaise with a resigned look in his eyes. “I know, but if I wait, I’ll never do this.”

Blaise smiled his joker’s grin. “Then let’s do this.” He marched giddily past Ashi and out the library door.

* * *

They found Draco two corridors away from the Great Hall, laughing about something with his new-old friends. Ashi could only guess what they found so funny, but none of his ideas were very encouraging. He marched toward to group and called out when he was about twenty feet away.

“Draco!” he shouted.

The group stopped laughing and looked at him simultaneously. Several of them sneered in that same demeaning way when they saw him.

Blaise immediately stopped where he was and sneaked off quietly into the shadows, smiling sheepishly. He could see how mad Ashi was, how patronizing Draco was, and he didn’t want to be within a mile of the two when they blew up. If they had been alone, maybe they would have been able to exchange a few words and settle it peacefully, but now that they had an audience, neither would be willing to back down.

Ashi continued marching toward Draco. He recognized Pansy Parkinson and her friend…what was her name? Oh, well. It didn’t matter. Ah, there was Crabbe and Goyle too. He didn’t really know the rest of them, nor did he care to.

Draco was in the middle of the group but he pushed his way past a few of them to reach the front to confront Ashi. “What do you want, _Potter_?” he spat. “Come to say you’re sorry and grovel at my feet?”

Ashi stopped in front of him and crossed his arms, putting on that intimidating scowl he had picked up from Tsume. “No, actually. I still think you’re wrong. I just need to make you see it.”

“Come on, Potter. You don’t really think all these people,” he swept an arm behind him, “and their families are wrong, do you? And there are several hundred more who aren’t here who believe the same things we do.”

“All it takes is one wrong idea and one person to promote it,” growled Ashi.

“So you think bloody Muggle-born and their filthy blood and barbaric ways should be allowed to contaminate our magic? If we did that, the only magic we’d be able to perform is shooting sparks out of our wands while we eat raw meat!”

“Wizards aren’t all the pure beings you believe them to be, Draco, or have you forgotten what happened with Voldemort or Grindlewald?”

“But they were right, weren’t they? If we had just wiped the Muggle-born from the planet, there wouldn’t be all this conflict about it, would there? We’d all be happy and the Muggles would be content. After all, we’d be providing for them if they were our servants.”

“If they were all wiped out, the magical population would be cut down to less than a quarter of what it is right now! Muggle-born are responsible for all the progress you’ve made. If they were all gone, you wouldn’t have nearly half the spells you do now!”

“We’d be able to figure them out on our own eventually!”

“Exactly! Eventually! Eventually, you’d be prosperous. Eventually, you’d be powerful! It’s all those great _Muggle-born_ minds that led you to where you are today!”

“But we’d get there and we wouldn’t need them to do it!”

Ashi had had enough. He needed to get this out of his system and this wasn’t the way to do it. He punched Draco. Not hard, just enough for it to sting and hopefully get a response back. They had had three self-defense sessions so far, so he knew Draco knew how to punch correctly.

Draco reeled back, grasping at his nose. Had Ashi just…in front of the school?! And he hadn’t even hit that hard! He knew Ashi could do better than that. That one guy—Jacob, was it?—had had a black eye for a week after Ashi had punched him. Draco curled his own fist in rage. How dare Ashi treat him so lightly! Draco swung his fist at Ashi’s face.

Ashi saw the hit coming for him, but he didn’t care. He needed Draco to get a few hits in otherwise he would feel himself duped in front of his friends and they would never solve their conflict. Ashi took Draco’s punch straight on. It stung. Draco was stronger than he looked, but still had nothing on Tsume or Kiba.

They exchanged fists a few times, each taking a hit for the one he doled out. People were yelling all around them now, but they took no notice. Their concentration was on each other. They circled each other, fists raised and ready to defend or attack.

Ashi darted forward and leaned backward to sweep his leg around Draco’s. He dodged easily. A small part of Ashi’s heart swelled in pride at how far his student had come in such a short time, but he couldn’t concentrate on that now.

Draco lunged back in for another swipe at Ashi’s face and made contact. He grinned a little bit, feeling proud of himself for landing so many hits. The other half of his brain began to wonder if Ashi was deliberately taking it easy on him. He didn’t care though. All that mattered was that he was finally getting to take his frustration out on someone and there were people around to see it. He could see Ashi readying himself for another attack but a movement caught Draco’s eye.

Professor Snape appeared behind Ashi and snatched up the collar of the boy’s robes. Draco would have laughed outright at the look on Ashi’s face as he was suddenly throttled by his own clothes except his own robe hiked up to his throat and pulled him off his feet. Draco stumbled back, tugging at his collar, trying to breathe.

“What exactly is going on here?!” screeched Professor McGonagall behind him.

The boys freed themselves from their captors, simultaneously pointed at each other, and shouted, “He started it!” They stared at each other and were about to protest that, “No, it was not me that started it. It was you,” but were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

“I don’t care who started it,” she simmered. “I want to know why you think it’s alright for you to start punching each other.”

Neither answered her. They had their reasons, but they were sure the Professors, or anyone else for that matter, wouldn’t understand.

Professor McGonagall hmphed and crossed her arms. “Well,” she said at last, “as much as I would like to take over from here. It is up to your Head of House to decide your punishment.” She lifted her glare to Professor Snape and stared at him. She would have started tapping her foot if it would have done any good.

Snape returned her gaze patiently, then looked down his nose at the boys. “Detention,” he said silkily. There was no detectable hint of anger there, but all of the Slytherins could see just how livid he really was. No doubt Ashi and Draco, and probably the entire Slytherin House as well, would be getting a talking-to later.

“I hear some Gryffindors will be serving their own detention tonight with Hagrid. I’m sure he will not mind a couple more…hands,” he continued. He looked like he was finished but when he looked back up at McGonagall, she was still glaring at him.

Snape blew a lungful of air out his nose and kept going. “Thirty points from Slytherin.” He sneaked a look back at McGonagall. She was still glaring. “Each.”

There was a slight pause before McGonagall hummed. “Very well,” she growled. “You will meet Filch at the entrance hall tonight. Eleven o’clock.” She waited just long enough to see both boys nod then continued. “And I don’t want to hear another peep from either of you for the rest of the month. Is that clear?”

They nodded again.

McGonagall hmphed again then turned on her heel with a swish of her robes. The crowd parted before her like she was Moses. As soon as she was through, she turned back around and snapped, “What are you all still doing here? It’s time for dinner.”

The crowd mumbled and started to drift away. Most followed McGonagall to the Great Hall, while smaller groups branched off down different halls.

Ashi and Draco stayed where they were for a few more seconds, waiting for their audience to disperse. Draco’s friends had left at McGonagall’s prompting and he hurried after them, making sure to avoid looking at Ashi.

Ashi watched Draco go, then turned down one of the halls that led outside. Blaise appeared by his side a few steps in.

“So,” said Blaise, skipping up ahead of Ashi and walking backwards to watch his friend’s reaction. “What was that?” To Blaise’s surprise, Ashi smiled. Not a sneaky, conniving smile, but a genuine smile. He was _happy_ at what had happened.

“That was progress,” replied Ashi jovially. “I think I got through to him.”

Blaise’s mouth dropped open and he stumbled over his own feet, falling behind Ashi enough that he had to quicken his pace a bit to catch up. “You what? You call what happened back there ‘getting through to him’?”

Ashi continued smiling and shrugged. “It’s what me and my pa—family used to do.” He shot a glance at Blaise to see if he had noticed the almost slip-up. He didn’t show any confusion so Ashi continued. “We always feel like talking it out after a fight. Dunno why. Just do. I figured I would give it a try with Draco.”

Blaise gaped at him. “You think that would work on _Draco_. Have you met him?”

“I didn’t have any other ideas, okay? And what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Uhm, he might not speak to you ever again, or have you expelled—you know his father can do that, right?—and then he’ll become even more of a prick and I won’t have you around to help me deal with him,” Blaise complained.

“That won’t happen,” assured Ashi. “He can threaten all he wants but he won’t do that because it’ll prove just how much he depends on his father for everything. If he doesn’t accept my peace offering, he won’t get me expelled, but he’ll do his best do make my life a living hell…and I guess yours too since you’re being ostracized as well.”

“Well, that’s terrific,” drawled Blaise with a healthy dose of sarcasm in his voice. “We won’t get expelled. We’ll just wish we were. Right?”

Ashi nodded and continued down the corridor in silence. Blaise followed him, but couldn’t take the silence for more than a few seconds.

“So, where are we going?” he asked.  

“Forest,” replied Ashi. “Get some herbs,” he pointed to his cheek, which was already beginning to redden and swell, “for this.”

“Forest? What forest? You mean the _Forbidden Forest_?” screeched Blaise.

Ashi shot him a glare to shut him up.

Blaise’s mouth creased as he realized just how loud he had been—the few students not in the Great Hall had looked over at the noise.

“You can’t go in there,” hissed Blaise after a few seconds. “It’s called the Forbidden Forest for a reason. If you get caught going in there, you’ll be expelled for sure. Besides, I heard there’re werewolves and things in there.”

“I haven’t seen any werewolves yet, and if it was really that dangerous, do you think they’d build a school right next to it?”

“Well, in my opinion, the founders were crazy when they built Hogwarts anyway and—wait a minute!” Blaise stopped and grabbed Ashi’s shoulder, stopping him as well. Blaise glared at his friend. “You mean you’ve been in there before?!”

Ashi skillfully avoided Blaise’s eyes and didn’t answer.

Blaise let go and ran both his hands through his hair. “Oh Merlin. Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin.” He turned back to Ashi, gesticulation rather wildly. “You’ve gone in there before?! By yourself?! How are you not dead?!”

Ashi flapped one of his hands at Blaise. “It’s not that dangerous and I can take care of myself.” He continued down the hall again. He could see the grass just ahead of them and he was determined to make it to the greens before Blaise could convince himself that he would be able to stop Ashi from sneaking back into the Forbidden Forest. 

“Ah. Wait, Ashi!” cried Blaise, hurrying to catch up. “You can’t go in there. If you get caught, you’ll get expelled, and if they find out I knew about it, they’ll kick me out too. I can’t get kicked out in my first year; it’s not even been two months. My mum—”

“It’ll be fine, Blaise. Everyone’s at dinner. Who’s gonna see?’

“Why can’t you just go to Madame Pomphrey for something? It’ll probably work even better than some raw plant, anyway.”

Ashi thought about that suggestion for a second then shook his head. “No. It’ll be more significant if it’s something I’ve gotten myself. Don’t worry. I’ll be quick and you’ll stay here, alright?”

“But I—”

“ _Alright_?”

“…Fine. Just don’t get caught. If you get caught,” he pointed a finger at Ashi for emphasis, “I’m not going to help you.”

“Alright. If I get caught, I won’t involve you.”

“Good.” Blaise hesitated and lowered his eyes shyly. “…Thank you.”

Ashi smiled and stepped off the concrete onto the grass. “You’re welcome. Now stay here. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Blaise slapped his face with his palm and groaned. “That means you’ve been in there enough times to know exactly where whatever it is you want is.”

Ashi looked back at him and grinned cheekily, then pulled off his robes.

Blaise squawked when he saw what Ashi was doing, assuming he had nothing but his boxers on underneath, then grinned sheepishly and cleared his throat when he saw Ashi’s jeans and t-shirt appear.

When Ashi’s head reappeared underneath the robe, he shoved the robes and book bag at Blaise. “Here,” he said. “Hold these. I don’t want them getting dirty.”

Blaise scowled but took Ashi’s things.

 Ashi turned and walked toward the forest. He made it three-quarters of the way across the green, then turned around and waved at Blaise, partly as an excuse to make sure no one else was watching him and partly to reassure Blaise—again.

Blaise stared sulkily back at him and didn’t return the wave.

Ashi turned back to the forest and rushed into its welcoming black arms. As soon as he was far enough in that he couldn’t see the castle, he stopped and breathed in deeply. It smelled of wet moss and decomposing leaves and he loved it. This smell was better than anything Ashi could think of. He flexed his hands in renewed vigor and shifted into a wolf.

Immediately, he was tempted to howl, to tell his pack where he was and let all other animals know to beware; there was a real monster in the forest now. He didn’t though. It wouldn’t do to scare Blaise or any other students walking around the grounds, at least not while it was still light out.

He had told Blaise the truth: it took him less than ten minutes be back at the forest’s edge with a mouthful of bitter healing herbs. Once he was back in the dorms, he would use his potions supplies to make a thick paste which the boys could smear over their bruised cheeks. If he did it right, the swelling would go down by morning and only light bruising would be left by the next night. Then again, Ashi was never very talented at mixing this particular type of paste correctly; that was Toboe’s department. Still, the worst he could do was weaken the paste’s effectiveness, which would still heal the wounds in half the time it would take had they been left alone.

Ashi stood up in his human form, took the herbs from his mouth, and spat onto the ground, trying to get rid of the nasty flavor of the herbs. He crept silently to the last few trees and peered out cautiously. It would not do to get caught now. No one was on the green and Ashi couldn’t see anyone staring out of windows. He did spot Blaise fidgeting nervously on the edge of the sidewalk, right where Ashi had left him.

Ashi growled under his breath. He wished he had telepathy so he could tell Blaise to _stop looking so nervous_. If anyone saw him, they would wonder what was wrong and it would all go downhill from there. But there was no one around to wonder, at least right now there wasn’t. Ashi wasn’t about to waste this precious opportunity, so he shoved the herbs into his pocket and darted out into the sunlight. Once he was a few feet away from the trees, he slowed his walk to a casual stroll and walked parallel to them so as to seem he was just talking a walk along the edge.

He headed toward Blaise again after a few seconds and quickened his pace. Blaise was staring at him in awe half a minute later.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

 “You just appeared—right there on the green. Where did you come from? I never saw you leave the forest.”

“That was the point,” replied Ashi, a bit miffed. He started walking back down the hall toward their House. 

“Oh, man. You gotta teach me how to do that,” chattered Blaise, skipping with excitement. “I’d be able to do all kinds of pranks without getting caught. It would be so awesome.”

“Hnn,” replied Ashi thoughtfully. Blaise’s pranks always amused him, especially when he wasn’t playing them on Ashi. Of course, he had nothing on the Weasley twins, but in Ashi’s opinion, they tended to take their pranks a bit far; they were almost bullies. So Blaise’s pranks, such as a frog in someone’s ink bottle or books that ran away from their owners, were just the right balance of chaos and fun for Ashi. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll teach you. Here’s your first lesson: Silence.”

“Silence?” asked Blaise. “Like light-on-my-feet silence, or being-aware-of-my-surroundings silence, or—”

“Like keeping-your-mouth-shut silence. The others will come later.”

“Oh. So I should—”

“Stop talking, yes.”


	21. Detention

_Previously on_ What If

_"Hnn," replied Ashi thoughtfully. Blaise's pranks always amused him, especially when he wasn't playing them on Ashi. of course, he had nothing on the Weasley twins, but in Ashi's opinion, they tended to take their pranks a bit far; they were almost bullies._

_So Blaise's pranks, such as a frog in someone's ink bottle or book that ran away from their owners, were just the right balance of chaos and fun for Ashi._

_"Alright," he said. "I'll teach you. Here's your first lesson: silence."_

_"Silence?" asked Blaise. "Like light-on-my-feet silence, or being-aware-of-my-surroundings silence, or-"_

_"Like keeping-your-mouth-shut silence. The others will come later."_

_"Oh. So I should-"_

_"Stop talking, yes."_

* * *

Ashi went straight back to the dorms while Blaise went to dinner. Most of the students were in the Great Hall, so Ashi made it to the dungeons without trouble. He whispered the password to the wall and slipped inside as soon as there was enough room.

The common room was empty but for the crackling fire. Ashi ignored the impulse to curl up in front of the warmth and sleep his worries away and skipped up the steps to his room.

He pushed the door open slowly, quietly, just in case Draco was already there simmering.

Nothing.

The door swung open the rest of the way and Ashi hurried to his trunk to pull out his mortar and pestle, throwing his robe and book bag onto his bed. He dumped the herbs in the mortar and added a few drops of water, grinding until there was a paste.

He wrinkled his nose; he could smell the foul-smelling mixture without even trying, could almost taste it even. He hopped over to his trunk and pulled out some spices from his potions supplies to balance out the scents. Soon, the tangy smell of cinnamon wafted throughout the room.

Ashi scooped the paste into a small jar and stuck it in his pocket.

There were still several hours before their detention, but Ashi needed to find Draco soon. He wouldn't have had a whole lot of time to cool off but if they applied the paste soon, they would be able to go to detention without embarrassing themselves by having a black eyes _and_ swollen cheeks; they would just have the black eyes. And the sooner Ashi started looking for Draco, the more time he would have to catch him alone.

Ashi slipped out the door and down the stairs.

A couple of third-years were chatting amiably as they sat together in the common room. They glanced at Ashi when he came down the stairs, but tried to make it inconspicuous. They were not successful.

Still, Ashi ignored them and disappeared from the common room. He glided through the hallways, avoiding people where he could and marched up to the Great Hall.

The early diners were beginning to disperse through the doors but most of the student body was still munching.

Ashi stayed to one side of the doors so as not to be noticed and searched the Hall for Draco. He was sitting a few seats down from their normal spot, looking sourly at his plate and ignoring the chatter from his "friends."

Ashi's eyes flicked further up the table. Blaise sat where he usually did. There was a full plate in front of him but he wasn't working on it. Instead, he was trying to strike up a conversation with the people around him but wasn't having much luck.

By Ashi's estimation, they had already been there a half-hour and would soon be returning to the common room, or the library, or wherever else they went before bed.

He turned on his heel and climbed up the stairs to sit and wait at the top.

The minutes ticked by.

One by one and group by group, the Great Hall was emptied of students. Several passed him on their way up the stairs and more than a few gave him strange looks, but Ashi continued his vigil for Draco.

Fifteen minutes after Ashi sat down, Draco appeared, surrounded by his friends. They were laughing and sneering at everyone around them, but Draco still had a scowl on his face. He ignored them all, staring at his feet unless someone bumped into him.

Ashi stood up, startling a group of Ravenclaws climbing the stairs, and slinked through the crowd to follow Draco. It looked like they were heading to the common room, but he needed to make sure before he took his shortcut to get ahead of them.

He followed until there was no other path for them to take, then Ashi slipped off down a separate hall and zigzagged through classrooms.

His nighttime ventures had allowed him ample opportunity to explore Hogwarts's lower rooms, even though most of them weren't in use anymore. He probably knew the dungeons better than any other student by now. He even knew of a couple secret passages.

He used one of them now to practically teleport himself in front of Draco.

Draco had been in the middle of the group when they left the Great Hall, but now he was starting to lag behind, making his kidnapping that much easier. In the blink of an eye, Ashi had reached out from his hiding place and snatched the collar of Draco's robes.

Draco let out a small, indignant yelp when he was suddenly yanked off his feet and the light disappeared from his vision. He landed hard on his butt and simply sat there for a few seconds, stunned.

"Lumos," said Ashi, holding up his wand to light the hidden corridor enough for them to see each other's faces.

Draco stared up at him in astonishment. "Ashi?!" he screeched.

"Come with me," said Ashi. He turned and started back down the secret pathway.

Draco sneered at his back then stood up and, instead of following Ashi, lit up his own wand and started searching the wall behind him for an exit.

Ashi stopped when he noticed the extra light and turned back to Draco. He watched silently for a few seconds before he said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting out of here. There's no way I'm going to just follow you like an idiot, you psychopath."

"Draco, if I wanted to hurt you, you would be hurt."

Draco didn't reply and kept sliding his hand over the stones.

"You're not going to find it," commented Ashi. "It took me three days to find it."

Draco's hand dropped to his side and clenched in a fist. "Then why don't you show me and I'll only have you suspended and not expelled."

"No."

"No?! Do you remember who I am?!"

"Of course. You're Draco Malfoy, pureblood wizard, first-year at Hogwarts, and my and Blaise's friend."

"Then you remember who my father is."

"Yes. What does he have to do with this?"

"I just have to say a few words to my father and he can have you expelled from Hogwarts and banned from the English wizarding community."

"So?"

"So?! You don't care that you'll be expelled?"

"Not really. I can just enroll in one of the other schools. I only came to this one because the Potters had already enrolled me."

"Then I'll just have him send a letter to them explaining what a psycho you are."

"But that would be his power. Show me what you can do with your own."

"His power is my own! I have power over him and he has power over you!"

"But you still rely on him to exert that power. You can't go up to the Headmaster and request my expulsion yourself."

"Then what do you want me to do?" growled Draco.

"Follow me," replied Ashi as he started down the hall again.

Draco stared at his friend's retreating back for a few seconds. He crossed his arms and huffed a few times before he finally scampered after Ashi.

They walked in silence for a few yards before Draco asked, "What are you doing?"

Ashi tilted his head to look over his shoulder at his friend. "Saving you from yourself."

Draco lifted his lip in a sneer. "And how do you expect to do that? How do you know that I need saving, anyway?"

"I'll put it this way: are you happy with the life you had before now, with the friends you had before you met me and Blaise?"

"I knew Blaise long before I knew anyone else," snorted Draco.

"But not familiarly."

"…No."

They arrived at another wall and Ashi pressed his hand against one of the bricks. The wall swung open completely silently, flooding the hall with dim light. They stepped into an empty classroom and a suit of armor closed the hole they had come through.

Ashi pointed to one of the desks nearby. "Sit."

Draco gave him an odd look but did as he was told.

Ashi reached into his robes and pulled out the jar full of healing paste and unscrewed the lid.

Draco crinkled his nose as the smell reached him. "What is that?"

"It will help with the bruising."

"Why does it smell like something a girl would wear?"

Ashi sniffed it a bit. True, it was a bit strong, but his sense of smell had always been different from the humans' so he had thought this was an acceptable strength of fragrance. Apparently not. "No one will notice."

"Sure, they will. I'll smell like a girl. I could probably smell that from across the room."

"No one of consequence will notice."

"I still have to maintain _some_ semblance of respectability here otherwise Father would kill me."

"I will not allow him to kill you."

Draco looked startled. "What? No. He wouldn't _kill_ me, but I'd be in a lot of trouble."

Ashi blinked. "Then why would you say he'd kill you?"

"It's an expression, Ashi. What, you thought my father would really kill me?"

Ashi blinked again. "No?"

In reality, it wasn't that uncommon for wolves to kill or drive off members of the pack that weren't pulling their weight. He hadn't had that problem with his pack because they were hardwired to preserve their species, hence why they had put up with Ashi's (and Toboe's) inability to hunt or contribute to the pack's wellbeing for so long.

The boys stared at each other in shocked silence for a few seconds before Ashi finally cleared his throat and dipped his fingers into the jar. He gathered a sizeable hunk and reached toward Draco's face.

Draco leaned back and scrunched his face. "Uh-uh. You aren't getting that stuff anywhere near me."

Ashi scowled. "It won't bite. It'll help with the bruising."

"Yeah. You said that. But it still smells like something a girl would wear."

"Would you prefer I added some horse dung to it instead? I'll be wearing it too."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

Ashi retracted his fingers. "Fine. You can be stuck with a swollen face for the next week, then."

He turned to look at his reflection in the suit of armor and reached up to apply the paste to his own face. When he was done, one side of his cheek had a dark green tint. He started to screw the lid back on the jar when Draco pipped up.

"Wait," he said, rather mournfully.

Ashi turned back around and waited.

Draco mumbled something.

Ashi was able to understand him perfectly, but he felt like teasing his friend a bit. "Sorry. What was that?" he asked innocently.

Draco huffed. "I said I'll have some of that. I'd rather a few people notice I smell funny than everybody noticing that I got hurt."

Ashi smiled and held the jar out. Draco dipped his finger in the mixture and smeared it on his face until he also had a green tinge.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

Ashi's smile broadened. "Let's go back to the dorm. We have detention in a few hours and I, for one, would like to have a nap before we spend the entire night doing who-knows-what."

Draco nodded. He stood up and led the way to the door. His hand was on the doorknob when Ashi spoke again.

"Draco, why do you hate Muggles and Muggleborn?"

Draco paused and was silent for a few moments. He kept the one hand on the handle, but the other clenched at his side. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before he turned and answered Ashi.

"Cause they're murderers."

Ashi tilted his head in question and waited for his friend to continue.

Draco sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "When the Muggles were paranoid about witches in the 1700s…they started killing off anyone they even _thought_ had magic. A lot of families just moved out of the country if they could afford it. The Malfoys couldn't, not then.

"One of the neighbors caught a Malfoy lighting a brush fire with magic one night and the Malfoy clan was nearly wiped out. The only reason we still exist is that a distant cousin got overlooked in the carnage."

Draco clenched his fists again and looked Ashi straight in the eye. "It's their own fault that we hate them and their offspring. And if we don't control them, they won't hesitate to do something like that again if they ever find out magic is real."

Ashi nodded, beginning to empathize with Draco's feelings on the matter, then stopped as he realized what exactly Draco had been implying. "But if you attack them as you have been, you're just doing to them what they've done to you."

"Yeah, so?"

"So if you really succeed in suppressing the Muggles, they'll just start attacking you again once your guard is down and you'll just switch roles over and over forever."

"So? I don't care. I want them to know what it feels like to be hunted for being different."

"Why, though? The witch hunts happened hundreds of years ago. Why do you care so much about that?"

"Because a lot of wizards and witches died and I almost didn't exist and there were so few living wizarding families that we had to start marrying Muggles to keep the magic in our bloodline without inbreeding!"

"That may be so, but do you really want to shove that experience off onto them?"

"Yes!"

Ashi sighed. How was he supposed to make Draco see sense in this? "Then what about your kids or your grandkids? Do you want them to experience that?"

Draco shifted his weight. "…No, but if we're careful, they won't have to. We'll keep the Muggles in line."

Ashi shook his head. "Maybe for a long time, even hundreds of years, but eventually, the Muggles will start a coup and overthrow wizarding rule and persecute you in turn."

Draco was silent and Ashi continued, "And then when their rule comes to an end the wizards with overthrow them and the cycle will start again. Under your plans, there will always be someone suffering discrimination for being different and it will never end. It would be better to end it now before it even begins. The Muggles started it, but the wizards have a chance to end it…What about Muggle-born, then? Why do you hate them? They have magic, just like you."

Draco scowled. "They're still not full wizards, though."

"Why not? They have magic; they just don't have pedigree papers to prove an ancient bloodline. You have to have new blood, new ideas, to make progress, in any society."

"Yeah, but when all the wizards were being slaughtered, they just sat back and watched. They hid like the cowards they are."

"What's wrong with wanting to live?"

"Nothing! But they could have helped us somehow!"

"How? Why help a bunch of strangers when they could have been caught and punished themselves?"

"How about something called human compassion?!"

Ashi smiled. "Exactly, Draco: compassion. I'm sure there were people who helped wizards back then. They just didn't get to the Malfoys—and hundreds of other people—in time. There were only so many who were brave enough to help. The rest _were_ cowards, but why judge the entire population by the actions of a few? If we continue to use that method, why aren't we praising them instead?"

Draco pouted silently by the door, too stubborn to admit Ashi was right.

Ashi sighed. "Just think about it for a bit. You don't have to start handing them roses tomorrow, just try not to antagonize them as much. People might start liking you more."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Let's just go." Draco turned and yanked open the door, storming out and down the hall toward the dorms.

Ashi smiled wryly after him. Baby steps. He had planted the seed, now he just had to wait for it to grow…or die.

* * *

At 10:50 that night, Ashi and Draco walked from their dorm to the entrance hall for their detention. Once Draco had finished grumbling about why they needed to get there so early for the first three staircases, they had finished the rest of the trip in companionable silence, barring the four times Draco had yawned rather loudly.

When they reached the entrance hall, no one was there and Draco started a fresh round of grumbling. They stood around for a little bit before Draco finally huffed and plopped on the floor.

"Wake me up when somebody gets here," he mumbled and dropped his head onto his upraised knees.

Ashi just nodded and kept guard. He had been anticipating this all day, wondering what they could possibly have them do for punishment. Although he would never admit it out loud, he was nervous. Punishments in a pack were usually taking over the midnight shift or eating the scraps after the pack had eaten their fill. Since his pack was so small, those punishments were never very effective. His punishments had been lectures or harder training.

Five minutes after Draco had fallen asleep, Ashi started fidgeting. He tapped his fingers against his arms and shuffled his feet. He had been on the verge of pacing when the Gryffindors finally came into sight.

Ashi suppressed a smile as he recognized Ron. He didn't know the second boy, but he had seen him around, mostly with Ron and a third boy.

Ashi stepped over to Draco and tapped him with his foot. Draco's head jerked up and he looked blearily around.

"Huh?" he said, blinking away sleep.

"They're here," replied Ashi quietly.

Draco groaned. "Already?" He didn't wait for Ashi's answer as he stood up and stretched. He crossed his arms as he watched the Gryffindors.

"Well, well, if it isn't Weasley," he sneered as soon as they were within earshot.

"Well, well, if it isn't Malfoy," snarked Ron right back.

"What'd _you_ do to get detention?" asked the unknown boy.

"What, you didn't hear?" asked Ron. "He got into a fist-fight with Potter there."

The boy barked out a laugh. " _Him?_ No way. Not prissy-boy Malfoy."

"Would you like a demonstration, Finnigan?" growled Draco.

"Draco," said Ashi warningly.

Draco gave one last sneer, then huffed and turned away. "You aren't worth the time anyway."

"Got a new master to tell you what to do?" asked Finnigan.

Draco opened his mouth to retort, but Filtch decided to show up right then, carrying a lit lantern high in one hand.

"I see you're all here," he smiled. "Follow me."

Draco shot a glare at the Gryffindors a glare before he turned to follow Ashi and Filtch out to the grounds, heading toward the small cabin at the edge of the wood Ashi knew belonged to Hagrid.

They trudged along silently for a few seconds before Ashi leaned over to Draco and whispered, "Draco, who is the other boy?"

"Seamus Finnigan," answered Draco. "A half-blood that tends to get in trouble a lot. Does some pranks and stuff. Got a nasty personality but everyone from his House seems to like him."

"They probably think you're the one with the nasty personality."

Draco snorted. "I could care less what those blood-traitors think about me."

Ashi tilted his head in confusion. "What makes them blood-traitors?"

"They choose to live with and help Muggles instead of their fellow wizards."

"So? Maybe they're just better at doing things the Muggles need doing instead of magical stuff."

"It's still weird. It's unnatural. Hey, Filtch! Where are we going anyway?"

Ahead of them, Filtch cackled creepily. "Hagrid will be giving your detention tonight. Should have some fun in the Forbidden Forest tonight."

Draco stumbled in shock. "The Forbidden Forest?! But there's a reason it's forbidden! Students aren't allowed to go in there!"

"'eadmas'er Dumbl'dor gave us special permiss'n to go ternight. Ah need some help in thar," said Hagrid as he stepped out of the cabin with his own lantern upraised. He waved to Filtch and the grouchy old man slinked back to the castle. "Somethin's been hurtin' the unicorns and Ah'm hopin' to catch it."

"Wait a minute," said Seamus. "If something's so dangerous as to hurt the unicorns, you want _students_ to hunt it for you?"

"Well, no," admitted Hagrid. "Ah were jus' hopin ter find the 'erd and get it closer ter the castle tonight."

"But we're still going to the Forbidden Forest, right?" demanded Ron. "It's dangerous in there! And Dean said he's been hearing howls for the last month."

"Oh, there ain't nothin' brave enough to attack yah where we're goin'," assured Hagrid. "Eh, yeh all know how ter shoot sparks from your wands, yeah?"

They all nodded.

"Jes shoot some red sparks out when yah get in trouble, then."

"Wait, we're not going to be with you?" asked Ron.

"Scared, Weasley," teased Draco, even though what little color he had had already drained from his face."

Ron scowled, but Hagrid spoke up before another argument to break out. "We got ter find th' 'erd ternight. We can split up inter groups to cover more ground tha' way. Erm, le's see. We could go in threes."

"But there's only five of us, Hagrid," said Seamus.

Hagrid grinned and opened his cabin door again. "Fang!" he called.

A huge hound dog bounded out the door and ran around the students a few times in excitement before he stopped next to Hagrid. He spotted Ashi and immediately started barking.

_"_ _Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!"_ it said. _"Intruder! Intruder!"_

"Fang!" chided Hagrid. "You stop tha'. It's jus' Ashi."

Fang stopped barking and settled for growling at him.

_"_ _I'm a student here,_ " explained Ashi quietly.

Fang stopped growling and looked at him suspiciously, then glanced at Hagrid. _"Hagrid trusts. I trust,"_ he said shortly.

"Good dog," said Hagrid when he noticed Fang had stopped growling. "Now then, two of yeh can come with me and two of yeh can go with Fang."

"We'll go with Hagrid!" shouted Ron before Hagrid had even finished getting the words out.

Hagrid looked at Ashi and Draco. "That alright with yeh, boys?"

Draco curled his lip. "Sure, I guess. Ickle Ronnikins obviously needs the protection."

Ron growled at him.

"Righ', then. Le's get goin'," said Hagrid. He picked up another lantern that had been sitting on the ground by the cabin door, lit it, and handed it to Draco. He turned and led the way into the dark forest, following an almost-invisible trail.

After glancing at each other in apprehension, they all followed him.

Fang stared at Ashi for another few seconds before trotting ahead to Hagrid's side.

Hagrid stopped a few yards into the forest and directed Ashi and Draco down the trail's right fork while he, Ron, and Seamus went left.

The boys crept through the forest. Well, Ashi crept and Draco stumbled along in the dark, rubbing against branches and stepping on twigs.

"Shh," hissed Ashi. "You'll scare away the unicorns before we even get close."

"Well, excuse _me_ for not being able to see a damn thing," said Draco.

"Not being able to see doesn't mean you are totally helpless, young one," said a soft voice from the shadows. "Simply look with senses other than your eyes."

Ashi and Draco whirled to face the prowler.

Fang whined, then stepped forward, barked once, and panted happily.

A shadow separated itself from the rest of the forest and a centaur with red hair and a chestnut body stepped into the ring of light cast by the lantern in Draco's hand.

Ashi and Draco gaped at their visitor.

The centaur stared at them just as hard, then stamped one of his back legs.

"Well, aren't you rude," he said, crossing his arms. He looked at Ashi. "Hrm. You must be the last new resident in our forest. I've already met the rest of your family."

Ashi squinted. "They haven't said anything about it to me."

"And no wonder. We hear you have not been very talkative as of late."

"We?" asked Draco.

"Yes, _we_. You didn't think I'd be able to live in here all by myself, did you? Bane, come out here."

A branch cracked behind the centaur and the boys stiffened in surprise.

A black-haired and -bodied centaur stepped from behind a tree and bowed his head. He looked to the sky and said somberly, "Mars is bright tonight."

Ronan also looked heavenward at Bane's proclamation.

"Indeed," he said. "A mixed omen when coupled with Jupiter's size at this time of year."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Draco.

Both centaurs fixe him with their calm gazes.

After a few seconds, Ronan looked at Ashi and said, "Tread with care, young Ashi. The world may depend on it."

The centaurs turned around and disappeared back into the forest without another sound.

Ashi's mouth dropped open a few inches. "Wait a minute!" he shouted, but it was too late. He growled in frustration. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

Draco pointed to where the centaurs had vanished. "What was that?" he asked. "And how did they know you? What did they mean they've met the rest of your family; the Potters are dead."

"They mean my other family. They…tend to…keep company with centaurs." Ashi spoke slowly as his mind raced to find a valid reason—other than his family was living in the Forbidden Forest—as to why the centaurs knew about him.

"'Keep company with centaurs,'" repeated Draco incredulously. "Centaurs barely talk to each other, let alone humans. Why are you so special?"

"I don't know, Draco," snapped Ashi. "We just are and they must have heard about me from another herd. Let's just find the unicorns, alright?"

He stomped off into the forest.

Fang glanced at each of the two boys, then trotted off after Ashi.

Draco stared after him, dumbfounded, before he followed. He caught up after a few minutes, then ventured a question after another few minutes.

"Hey. What did they mean when they said the world would depend on you being careful?"

Ashi had to take a deep breath to calm himself before he could answer Draco without snapping. It didn't work, not really. He managed to keep from shuffling his anger off on Draco, but he still ended up speed-talking as he vented his irritation.

"I don't know. Everyone just keeps saying stuff like that and then leaving without explaining. What's my oh-so-great destiny supposed to be? How am I supposed to prepare for it when no one will tell me what to prepare _for_? And where am I supposed to tread carefully? I—"

Ashi stopped so suddenly Draco bumped into him with an "oomph."

"Hey, what was that for?" asked Draco. He stepped around Ashi to see what was wrong.

Ashi shushed him.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Shut up, Draco. Listen."

Draco listened…and listened and listened but didn't hear anything.

Then a blood-curdling scream echoed from all around them.

The color drained from Draco's face as he whirled around in circles.

"W-what was that?" he stammered.

The ground started to rumble beneath their feet.

Ashi's head whipped around, trying to find the threat. Whatever was causing the ground to shake was so close he couldn't tell where it was coming from.

The rumbling grew stronger and louder.

At the last possible second, Ashi grabbed Draco's arm and yanked him behind a tree. Draco yelped was he was pulled off his feet and dropped the lantern. It smashed to pieces on the ground and the boys were plunged into darkness in an instant.

"Get down!" shouted Ashi.

Draco knelt on the forest floor and covered his head with both arms. Ashi crouched next to him and peeked out around the tree.

Fang yelped once before he joined the boys in their hiding place, pressing himself against Draco in fear.

A huge, white body whipped past Ashi's face, its hooves barely missing his hand where he had pressed it against the dry forest floor.

He leaned back in surprise and watched another unicorn run by, then another and another. Fear radiated from their bodies and showed itself in their frantic breaths and pounding hooves.

Something had spooked them, badly.

Ashi tucked himself behind the tree further as the fifth and sixth unicorns darted past them on the other side, then another three passed on either side. He spent several seconds with his back pressed against the tree and his knee jammed up against Draco's side to make sure he wasn't dragged off with the rampant horses.

He saw nearly two dozen unicorns disappear into the forest before the thundering died away. He waited a bit before he chanced a glance around the tree again.

Nothing.

Draco slowly raised his head. "What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know," whispered Ashi. He got up slowly from his position. "Stay here." He motioned to Fang, who was still trembling a bit next to him. _"Protect Draco,"_ instructed Ashi.

Fang lowered his head and whined. _"Scary. Something scary. Go now, please?_ " he said.

"What? Why?" demanded Draco. "Where are you going? Hey! Ashi! Don't you dare leave me out here! Ashi!"

Ashi didn't answer him. It was easy enough to disappear into the forest with Draco stumbling around in the dark behind him, covering his tracks. He followed the game trail where the unicorns had come from.

He crept slowly and silently through the trees, inching deeper and deeper into the forest. What he was searching for he didn't know, but he had a feeling he would know when he found it. Something that could spook and hurt _unicorns_ had to be pretty big or pretty nasty.

Ashi soon found himself at the edge of a small clearing. The half-full moon shone enough light into the clearing to see something shimmering on the ground. When his eyes adjusted to the brighter light, he froze.

The body of the unicorn lay sprawled on the ground, its hooves spread out awkwardly where it fell and its silvery mane was spread out in a beautiful halo around its neck. But it wasn't the unicorn that had Ashi's blood run cold with fear.

A human figure was leaning over the body at the neck with its head flush with the flesh of the magical beast. Something glinted in the moonlight on the unicorn's neck.

Ashi felt an overwhelming urge to run while at the same time he wanted to mutilate the monster who dared hurt such a majestic creature. It was ridiculous that he was feeling such great terror of something as weak as a _human_.

The irrational fear was winning though.

He clenched his fists to keep them from shaking and took a small breath to gather his courage.

The figure looked up, straight into the forest at Ashi. Sparkling unicorn blood dripped from its mouth down its cloak and onto the ground. Slowly, as if savoring the moment, it got to its feet and stepped toward Ashi.

Ashi's head exploded in pain and he cried out, dropping to his knees and pressing his knuckles against his forehead. His vision blurred out for a few seconds. Once it had abated a bit, he lifted his head and clenched his teeth so he could properly see the monster coming toward him.

It came closer and closer and Ashi was powerless to stop it, to even get away from it. He screamed again as another flash of pain overcame his willpower. When his vision returned, he had lost his human disguise and was crouching in a pained position on all fours with his head bowed between his front paws.

He whined and rubbed his head against his leg and against the ground to try to dispel the blinding pain.

When he looked up again, the figure was scant inches away from him, reaching out with skinny fingers to touch him.

He tried to growl but it only lasted half a second before it turned into a high-pitched whine. He panted hard in fear and pain. He couldn't do anything but wait and watch the thing in front of him.

It stopped reaching for him when he growled, then continued extending just one of its hard, bony fingers toward Ashi's face. Slowly, cautiously, it touched his nose, using just enough pressure to tickle Ashi's skin.

Ashi howled.

It felt like someone was cracking his head open. He lurched to his feet and stumbled a few steps away, dimly aware the figure had done the same, then collapsed hard to the ground and blacked out.

* * *

When he came to, a palomino centaur had its legs curled under itself next to him, cautiously stroking Ashi's neck.

Startled, Ashi flailed his legs for a second, finally rolling on his back a bit to gain the momentum to rock to his stomach.

The centaur lurched to its feet, stamping around in a circle agitatedly before stopping back at Ashi's side.

Ashi moaned and huffed. He had never had a worse headache than he did now. He let out a quiet whine and rubbed his head against his foreleg.

"Are you alright?" asked the centaur.

Ashi glared up at him. He had nothing against the centaur, but his loud voice was just making his pounding headache worse.

With a herculean effort, he lifted his head and stretched his front legs forward, checking their mobility and looking for any wounds. He stood up and shook himself, then immediately groaned and dropped his head as his headache intensified.

"Fine," he said. He squinted up at the centaur. "Who're you?" He turned his head and squinted at the clearing. The thing was gone. "What was that?"

The centaur didn't answer, just stared at him with bright-blue eyes. Ashi stared back.

"You are the Potter boy," said the centaur finally.

Ashi bared his teeth. "I suppose. Though I prefer being called Ashi."

The centaur nodded. "Yes, of course. I suppose that makes sense."

"You know who I am. Who're you?"

"I am Firenze. Now, we must leave this place. It is not safe here, especially not now."

"Why? What was that thing?"

Leaves rustled in the forest and both wolf and centaur fixed their attention on the darkness. Soft thudding sounds echoed along the trees. Across the clearing, four bodies appeared out of the gloom.

"What happened?" growled Tsume as he and Kiba led their pack into the clearing.

Toboe trotted ahead of them when he caught sight of Ashi. "Ashi, Ashi, are you alright? We heard your howl."

"I'm fine," replied Ashi, turning his head away as Toboe's anxious nose navigated his body in its search for injuries.

"Then what happened?" asked Kiba.

Toboe had rushed to Ashi's side so quickly he had ignored the motionless unicorn in the center of the clearing. Now, the rest of the pack was sniffing around it curiously.

Firenze watched the intently, but silently.

Ashi shook himself again and cringed at the pain that bloomed again in his head. His headache was almost gone now, but any sudden movements brought it back with a vengeance.

"I don't know," he said. He looked over at the unicorn and lowered his ears sadly. He stepped carefully over to the body and sat down. "Something killed it…then came after me."

"Did it do anything to you?" asked Hige, sitting down next to Ashi and leaning against him comfortingly.

Ashi shook his head. "No. I don't think so. There was something weird about it. It looked like a human, but…" He hesitated, lowering his head in shame. "I was scared of it."

Tsume barked out a laugh. "Ha. But you're never scared of anything."

"Tsume," chided Toboe.

"This thing was different, though. It was powerful," said Ashi.

"Indeed," said Firenze. He stepped forward to join the wolves around the unicorn. "There has been something decidedly malicious in the forest these past few months."

Tsume bared his teeth. "And who are you?" he growled.

"I am Firenze." He looked at Tsume pointedly. "I live here."

"I know _that_. What are you doing _here_ with _him_?"

"I happen to have ears. I came when I heard disturbances."

Hige sniggered. "I think you've met your match, Tsume."

Tsume huffed.

Firenze smiled at them, then looked at the unicorn, then Ashi. The smile melted off his face. "Do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

Ashi looked up at him. "No."

Firenze looked back at the unicorn. "It is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," he said. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

"What does that mean?" asked Toboe. "Cursed how?"

"The drinker will be forever linked to the unicorn's blood; he will not be able to survive without it. Great power comes from the blood, but if you ever stop, you will wither away and die."

"Who would be so desperate? I mean, you've got to know you're going to run out of unicorns eventually, right?" put in Hige.

"There is one thing that will cure the drinker of his addiction, however."

All the wolves stared up at him curiously.

"Do you know what is hidden in the castle at this moment, Ashi?"

"I'm sure there are lots of things—"

"It is an alchemic miracle," interrupted Firenze. "The Sorcerer's Stone will produce the Elixir of Life, which can be used as a substitute for the unicorn's blood."

"You want us to find this stone and cure whatever's killing the unicorns of its addiction?"

Firenze hummed. "That is one way you could do this, but no. It would be better for this monster to simply die than to be tethered to something so minimal for life and for power."

"So what exactly is it that you want us to do?" asked Kiba.

"Simply be on the lookout. If it knows the Stone is in the care of Hogwarts, it will try to get to it. It will become a force to be reckoned with if it does."

"Do you know where the Stone is?" asked Ashi. "It would be easier to keep an eye on it if I knew what to look for."

"No, I do not. But I would hope that Headmaster Dumbledore has placed it under heavy guard."

"But—" Ashi broke off as he pricked up his ears.

The animals all stilled as they listened. A short distance away, they could hear several voices.

"Harry!" shouted one voice.

"Ashi!" shouted two others at the same time.

"Where are ya, Potter?" screamed a fourth.

"The humans," said Tsume.

"We should go," added Toboe.

"See ya later, Brat," chirped Hige as he led the way back into the forest, away from the voices.

"We'll help you find the stone, Ashi," whispered Kiba as he walked past. "Keep an eye out for anything during your classes and we'll search the castle at night."

"Sure. Thanks. Watch out for Filtch and his cat, though."

Fang burst through the underbrush, barking madly. _"Found him! Found him! Found him!"_ he announced.

Firenze bolted a few steps at Fang's sudden entrance, then walked back to Ashi's side. "You had better take on your other form if you wish to remain anonymous," he whispered.

Ashi looked down at his body, as if to make sure he really was still in wolf form, then quickly changed. He had lost his robe when he had met the creature, so he would have to greet Hagrid, Draco, Ron, and Seamus with only his Muggle attire.

"There ya are," said Hagrid as he stumbled over a bush. "'ello, Firenze."

"Hagrid," greeted Firenze.

Hagrid stopped dead when he saw the unicorn. "Wha' 'appened 'ere?"

Neither Ashi nor Firenze answered. They just watched as Hagrid slowly approached the body and knelt, almost reverently, down next to it.

"I must go now, Ashi. Be careful," warned Firenze. He looked up at the stars and sighed. "Sometimes the centaurs read the stars wrong. Let us hope this is one of those times."

Ashi whirled to stare at Firenze and opened his mouth to demand what he meant, but Firenze beat him to it by galloping into the forest. He was gone in less than a second. Ashi fumed silently.

Draco stumbled jumped over a bush with a grunt, then stood up straight and brushed his robes off. He glared at Ashi. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"What?" asked Ashi.

"You ran off into woods _alone_ and left me with the dumb dog. It took off after something howled and I couldn't see _anything._ "

"Did you shoot up the sparks like you were supposed to?" asked Ashi.

"No, duh. Didn't you see them? Shot off like six sets before they found me."

"Yeah. He was shaking in his boots when we found him," said Ron as he walked into the clearing.

Draco scowled. "I'd like to see you act normally after being in the middle of a bloody stampede."

Seamus appeared at Ron's side. "He's right, though. I was at summer camp once and the horses stampeded. That was terrifying and I was on the other side of the fence."

"Great!" said Draco. "Now that we've got that settled, can we go now? Whatever killed that unicorn is still out there somewhere and there's only one of us who has even the slightest idea of how to get back to the castle."

"Scared, Malfoy?" asked Ron teasingly.

Draco glared harder. "Yeah," he said. "And you should be, too. Ever seen a unicorn defend itself? I have. Whatever killed it could easily pick us off like we were nothing more than specks of dirt."

"'e's right, ya know," said Hagrid as he stood up and approached them. "We bes' be gettin' you lot back ter th' castle."

"Finally!" said Draco.

Hagrid held his lantern higher and pointed out the trail to them, ushering them towards it as quickly as he could.

Ashi took one last look at the fallen unicorn and silently vowed to stop the monster that had done something so horrible.


	22. Meeting the Pack

**Chapter 22: Meeting the Pack**

After his talk with Firenze, Ashi had spent all his free time the next two days researching the Sorcerer's Stone. Despite what the centaur had said about it being an alchemic miracle, there was very little information on it in Hogwarts's library. The only information he could find was that its maker, Nicholas Flamel, was more than 6 ½ centuries old and that the stone itself could turn any metal into gold as well as create the Elixir of Life. Even that much didn't seem like anything he would really need to know about the Stone, but he was desperate for anything that would give him an edge.

When the weekend was over, Ashi, Draco, and Blaise settled back into a normal routine. It was as if the fight had never happened. Ashi couldn't tell if Draco was taking his speech to heart or not, but he certainly had fewer biting remarks for other students. Of course, Ashi was doing his best to keep Draco away from situations that could go sour. To further mend their relationship, Ashi decided to schedule another sparring lesson with his friends the next week.

Blaise, of course, was positively giddy with excitement while Draco just expressed his approval with a small smirk. The rest of the week went by agonizingly slowly for the two while Ashi just trotted to and from classes, the Great Hall, the library, and their room like nothing was wrong.

Finally, Friday night came.

"Come on, Ashi," whined Blaise from his bed, bouncing on it excitedly. "Let's go already."

"I'm almost done," muttered Ashi. His quill scratched on the parchment quietly.

Blaise managed to wait an entire fifteen seconds before he groaned and flopped on his bed.

"This is good for you, Blaise," commented Draco from where he was lying on his own bed, reading.

Blaise sat up on one elbow curiously. "Really? What is?"

"You get to learn some patience this way."

Blaise scowled and huffed. "Very funny."

Draco grinned and went back to his book.

Ashi took another five minutes to finish his notes. He could have taken half the time, but he was rather enjoying Blaise's awkward discomfort.

"Alright," he said. "Let's go."

"Finally," hissed Blaise and hopped up.

Draco sighed and closed his book.

They followed each other down the stairs, through the common room, and out the door. They still had an hour and a half before curfew so there were still several students mingling in the common room. No one had the guts to ask where the three were going, though.

Ashi led them down the hallway further into the dungeons. It was colder down there, but with the workout he had planned, they wouldn't be cold for long. Plus, they were less likely to run into unwanted distractions the further down they went. There were also no torches—no doubt to discourage any explorers—so the boys lit up their wands to light the way.

They reached their regular classroom, two floors down and one hallway over. They had cleared the tables and chairs from the center of the room and now they had a twenty-foot circle to use.

Ashi immediately started them on running. They had complained a bit the first few times, but they quickly shut up when Ashi had threatened to leave them if they didn't do exactly what he told them.

"How can you expect to last in a fight when you can't even run fifty yards without a break," he had said.

He worked them hard after that, for the entire two months they had been at Hogwarts. Now they could run ten laps before they started to pant and thirty before they needed a break.

"Alright," he said when they were done. "Ten push-ups. Thirty jumping-jacks. Ten burpees."

"Wait…a minute. Wait…Wait," panted Blaise, leaning his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He waited a few seconds, then said, "What the heck is a burpee?"

"That…is the most…ridiculous name…I've ever heard," said Draco.

"Hnn. Fun name, no- so-fun exercise," hummed Ashi. "Do a push up and immediately jump up."

Draco stood up and stretched his hands over his head. "And what, pray tell, is a push-up?"

Ashi let out a slow, frustrated breath, then got down on the floor and did a push-up. He stood up and spread his arms out showily. "Tada."

Draco eyed the ground disgustedly. "You expect me to put my hands on the floor? On purpose? Do you know how dirty it is? Even if there hadn't been students, who've been who knows where, do you know how much dirt can accumulate in a thousand years?"

Blaise groaned as he knelt on the floor. "Come on, Draco. You're gonna end up on the floor anyway."

Draco hummed, eyed the floor once more, and got down, placing his hands gingerly on the least-dirty-looking part of the ground.

Ashi circled them, occasionally correcting form. Several times both boys complained for a break, but he didn't let them stop until they were done. When they were, Draco was shamelessly passed out on the dirty floor, panting his lungs out.

"Not good enough," said Ashi after a pause. "If you meet a trained fighter, even if you can meet him blow-for-blow, you will never be able to stand up against his stamina with the way you two are now."

"What…the heck do you want us to do?" panted Blaise. "We haven't done anything more…than walk the distance to Hogsmede…every once in a while and suddenly…you expect us to…go toe-to-toe with someone…lightyears ahead of us in training?"

"Yes. Because if someone attacks you, you won't be anywhere near the same league. If they're experienced enough to be given a mission, either by themselves or by someone else, they're ready for you. You won't be. The objective here is to get you experienced enough to give them a run for their money."

"Huh," scoffed Draco. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome. Now, ready position, Blaise."

Blaise groaned. "Fine." He stood up and braced his feet, raising his fists to eye-level as he stared down Ashi.

"Lower your hands. If he attacks, your fists will be better served farther down. There is more to protect."

Blaise lowered his hands.

"Good."

Ashi attacked, slowly, allowing Blaise to identify and counter each punch. He managed to block every one and even return a few before Ashi sent him sprawling with a leg sweep.

"You are too focused on what is happening above. Pay attention to the lower extremities as well. Draco."

Draco huffed out a sigh and stood up copying Blaise's stance, except placing his fists a littler lower that Blaise had started with.

Ashi repeated the same fighting patter with Draco, who managed to jump over the leg sweep but lost his balance on the way back down. Ashi used the opportunity to put one of Draco's arms in a joint lock.

"Hey, watch it," whimpered Draco. "I've got delicate shoulders."

Ashi let go and stepped back, watching as Draco rubbed at his sore arm. "The point of this training is to make you less delicate. Again, Blaise."

Blaise stood up and shook out his arms. He raised them again, bouncing on his toes. "Come on. Come and get me," he taunted.

They continued to switch roles for what was left of the hour. By the time they were done, Draco and Blaise were two panting, sweaty messes on the ground, although both had improved their reaction times and learned a few new moves.

Ashi tossed them each a water bottle, which neither of them managed to catch, and sat beside them.

Blaise immediately dumped half the bottle over his head. "Are we ever going to be able to beat you?"

Ashi shrugged. "Soon. If you keep up your training. I'm years ahead of you."

Draco scoffed and sipped daintily from his water bottle. "That's encouraging."

"Is there anyone who can beat you?" asked Blaise.

"There are…a few people," replied Ashi. "I doubt you will ever meet them, though."

Blaise sat up abruptly. "You mean you know them? Oh, this is rich. Now we've gotta meet them."

"Not likely," muttered Ashi. He stood up. "Come on. Let's get back to the common room."

Blaise hopped to his feet, then groaned and grabbed his leg dramatically. "Oh my gosh. I'm not going to be able to _move_ tomorrow."

"Do some stretches when we get back. Maybe that will help," smirked Ashi.

They lit their wands and left the classroom, Blaise whimpering and moaning every other step and Draco mumbling about how he had ever been dumb enough to think this was a good idea. Ashi couldn't wipe the smirk off his face until they had climbed the first staircase.

A sound around the corner did that for him.

He halted abruptly, startling Blaise into nearly falling when he had to sidestep his friend.

"What's wrong, Ashi?" asked Draco quietly.

Ashi gestured for them to be quiet. "Someone's here," he whispered.

"What are you talking about? There's, what, three thousand students here? There's bound to be someone around every corner," remarked Blaise.

"Right before curfew? Down here?" asked Draco.

Blaise thought about it, then tilted his head back and forth in a you've-got-a-point gesture.

Meanwhile, Ashi had crept up next to the wall and peeked his head around the corner. There was no light coming from the opposite corridor, but Ashi could just make out several different voices.

They waited…and waited…and waited.

Finally, Blaise got impatient. "Come on, Ashi. If we wait any longer, Filtch is going to catch us."

Just then, one of the voices spoke rather loudly.

"I told you idiots, this wasn't the way! We're obviously going further down. We're supposed to be going _up_ ," it snarled.

The others spoke more softly but they were close enough for Ashi to hear them clearly now.

Ashi groaned as he recognized them. He stepped out from around the corner and marched toward them.

Blaise and Draco looked at each other, then followed cautiously when Ashi disappeared from view.

Ashi met the intruders five feet later.

"Ashi!" said Toboe, pulling him into a hug and ruffling his hair. "What are you doing down here?"

"I live here," growled Ashi, pushing away. "What are you doing here?"

"We're unsuccessfully trying to find that secret room of yours," replied Tsume. " _Somebody_ got us lost." He glared at Hige.

Hige turned up his nose. "It's not my fault this place reeks of humans. My delicate nose can't pick and choose when everything around here stinks so much."

"It doesn't smell all that bad to me," said Draco, crossing his arms as he stepped up beside Ashi.

"Who are these guys, Ashi?" asked Blaise on his other side.

Ashi looked the pack up and down. "As hard as it is to believe, they are my family."

"Cool. What are they doing here?"

"They're supposed to be looking for that room we found last month," said Ashi, raising his eyebrow in question.

"We're working on it, but this castle has the most wacked-up floor plan _ever_. You've seen those staircases. They _moved_. One went up and another went down," complained Toboe.

"Is this castle always so complicated?" asked Kiba.

"You'll get used to it," said Ashi.

"'Get used to it'? You mean they're staying here long enough to learn how to navigate?" asked Draco, shocked.

"But…but they can't do that! There's not supposed to be any parents here," complained Blaise.

Ashi scowled. "Since when? I didn't hear anything about there being a rule about no parents. And even if there were, that seems like a pretty stupid rule."

"Well…there's not…but still, Hogwarts is supposed to be a place where we don't have to worry about our parents and stuff like that," stammered Blaise.

"Well, they're not my parents so it doesn't matter," said Ashi.

"But—"

"Alright, alright, we get it," interrupted Hige finally. "So some of you don't want to have your parents around. What about Ashi? Do you want us here?"

Ashi nodded.

"Alright, then. We're staying," chirped Toboe.

"Now will you show us this secret room you're so excited about?" asked Kiba.

"Sure. It's this way," replied Ashi. He started down the hall again, the way his pack had just come from.

Tsume shot a pointed look in Hige's direction. Hige promptly ignored it and followed Ashi.

Toboe bounced after them with Kiba following at a more sedate pace.

Tsume glanced at the two Slytherins, which to them looked more like he was glaring, and waited for them to go in front of him. Even though they were Ashi's friends, he was unwilling to turn his back on them. He had been betrayed too many times to make that mistake again.

The two only started a staring contest, likely having the same untrusting thoughts that Tsume had.

He stared right back.

The others were a staircase and a half ahead of them before Tsume finally growled a terse, "Fine," and stomped after them. After all, he could take on a couple of kids if he needed to, right?

Blaise flashed a grin at Draco, who ignored it, and they both trotted off after Tsume.

When they reached the wall that hid the Slytherin House door, there was a mild, whispered fight about Draco and Blaise's wanting to accompany them the rest of the way to the forbidden room. Draco and Blaise won, mostly because Ashi didn't want to waste time arguing, giving Filtch more of a chance to catch them. At least, that's what he told himself. In the end, they all took up their original positions and marched up the many flights of stairs to leave the dungeons.

By the time they had sneaked up to the Great Hall, Blaise was fidgeting with the desire to ask Ashi a question, but he was so far behind that he couldn't risk shouting it without alerting Filtch—it didn't seem matter where he was, Filtch would always hear—to their rule-breaking. So, he sidled past Tsume, gave a cheerful wave to Toboe as he passed, and hopped the last few steps to Ashi's side.

"Hey, Ashi," he whispered.

Ashi grunted.

"You said earlier that there were only a few people who could best you in a fight?" he continued.

Ashi grunted again.

"Are these guys those few people?"

Ashi glared at him silently and kept going.

Blaise grinned and dropped back to Toboe and Kiba. "Hey, you guys can fight, right?"

"Yeah, why?" replied Toboe.

"Can you beat Ashi?"

Toboe thought about it for a bit. "Yeah. It takes me a while though. Tsume can take him down pretty quick, but he always uses dirty tricks." He paused, then grinned and said in a voice mockingly similar to Tsume's, "He says, 'your enemy isn't going to play nice, so why should I?'"

From behind them, Tsume glared hard at Toboe's back.

Blaise looked back, caught the glare, and widened his smile. "You think you could convince them to take each other on sometime? To show Draco and me?"

Kiba grinned. "Shouldn't be too hard. Just let us know when."

Blaise pumped his fist triumphantly. "Alright! How about during Christmas? There's hardly anyone here then and it shouldn't be to hard for you to sneak in."

Toboe sneaked a sheepish look at Kiba then asked Blaise, "Um, sure. Just...when is Christmas?"

Blaise gaped. "You don't know when Christmas is? Do you even know _what_ it is?"

"We know what it is; we just don't really celebrate it," replied Kiba.

"Oh, man. Are you guys missing out! There's presents and winter break and Hogwarts prepares a feast and—"

"Yeah. We know about all of that. Just tell us when it is," interrupted Toboe.

"Let's see…about a month from now. We've got finals in a couple weeks and then Christmas break starts, and then there's Christmas."

Toboe scrunched his face. "That far, huh. Then let Ashi know and he'll let us know."

Blaise nodded, still smiling happily.

Ahead of them, Ashi turned around quickly and bombarded them with a sharp, "Would you be quiet already? We're almost there."

Blaise and Toboe shot each other matching mischievous grins but did as they were told. As much as they wanted to spite Ashi by making more noise, they knew just how much trouble they could get in for being out past curfew.

Another staircase and a left turn later, they were all huddled around the door to the forbidden room.

Ashi lifted his wand and whispered, "Alohamora," and a soft click sounded. He stepped back and gestured dramatically to the door.

Kiba nodded and stepped forward, opening the door and slipping through silently. The rest of the pack shuffled past Draco and Blaise and followed their sort-of-Alpha.

Draco and Blaise started to follow them, but Ashi held them back.

"Leave them be. If he attacks, they won't have time to protect you," he said.

"He? What he? You mean you know that thing in there is a boy?" asked Draco.

Ashi nodded.

"How in Merlin's beard did you manage to find that out?" asked Blaise, astonished. "I barely noticed anything other than it had three heads and lots of teeth."

Ashi smiled. "You'll learn how to widen your scope…eventually."

"Hrn," grunted Draco. "I'm not sure I want it to widen if I start noticing things like _that_."

Blaise stifled a laugh.

The door inched open again and the four boys appeared in the hallway again. They stared at each other silently for a few seconds.

"Well?" asked Draco impatiently.

"Interesting," grunted Tsume.

"'Interesting'?" repeated Draco. "That's it? 'Interesting'?"

"Come on," whined Blaise. "You've got to have something more than that."

Hige shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a three-headed dog. So what?"

"It's a three-headed dog!" reiterated Draco. "Who the heck has a three-headed dog in a school for _kids_? I don't think they're even legal anymore. Something about being too unpredictable and dangerous."

"Hey, can we continue this later?" interrupted Ashi. "I don't feel like getting stuck in another detention."

Draco grumbled, but stomped off down the corridors back to the Slytherin House. Blaise shot them one more not-quite-suspicious look then followed Draco. The pack waited a few seconds before they started off as well.

"Well," whispered Ashi from the back.

"He said he was guarding something," said Tsume.

"He didn't know what, though," added Toboe.

"There's a trap door in that room. He said it leads to whatever it is he's guarding," said Kiba.

Hige sniggered. "He also said he'd like to have someone to play with sometime."

"Great," smiled Ashi. "Now you guys have something to do while I'm in school."

"You can't be serious," Hige gaped.

Ashi just kept smiling.

"He is serious," groaned Hige. "Why can't you do it? You know your way around here."

"Look, Firenze said something bad was going to happen and it had to do with the Sorcerer's Stone, which he thought was here. That dog—"

"Fluffy," interrupted Toboe.

"What?"

"He said his name was Fluffy."

Ashi gave him a queer look, then shook his head and continued. " _Fluffy_ is guarding something which is probably the Stone. If something bad having to do with the Stone is going to happen, _someone_ bad is going to have to steal it—unless Dumbledore is going to do something with it, but I doubt it. The only way someone's going to steal it is to get through Fluffy. If we keep an eye on Fluffy, we'll be able to tell what happened when."

"And I guess you'll be too busy with school to do it yourself?" asked Tsume.

Ashi nodded. "The semester finals are coming up in a few weeks, so I'm going to be stuck studying a lot."

Hige sighed. "Alright then. We'll babysit the big dog for you."

Toboe grinned. "Come on, Hige. It'll be fun."

"I very much doubt that," snorted Tsume.

"At the very least, we'll gain an ally here," said Kiba, smiling at his pack's half-hearted complaints.

They reached the ground floor where Ashi said goodbye to his pack and pointed them down the correct hallways to reach the outdoors. They quickly disappeared around a corner while Ashi, Blaise, and Draco slipped down the stairs toward their dorm room.

None of them spoke on the way down, the adrenaline from the evening's excitements leaving them in a rush as soon as their guests had gone. They slipped into the common room and slinked up the stairs. When they got to their room, they all collapsed on their respective beds.

Blaise didn't even change out of his day robes before he was snoring soundly away.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember which episode exactly, but they explain the whole no-one's-Alpha thing themselves. I kind of interpret that as Kiba acts Alpha most of the time, but he kinda shares it with Tsume, who might be considered the Beta. They switch the role whenever something comes up that is one of their specialties. For example, Kiba would be Alpha when navigation, non-assertive negotiations, and Flower Maiden stuff comes up and Tsume is Alpha when fighting and assertive negotiations come up. Yes, I know Kiba and fight, but he's really hot headed when he does and doesn't think about strategy or anything while he's fighting. That's why Tsume is Alpha in those moments; he's had more experience at being calm in the heat of the moment. Of course, they've all had time to work on their weaknesses during the eleven years since the Zali episode, but some things never change :)
> 
> Also, I'm going to stop doing the "Previously on" because it's just too much for me to get on the page in the limited time I have


	23. Christmas

# Chapter 23: Christmas

 

The month passed with hardly any change. There wasn’t time or energy for it. The Monday after Blaise and Draco met the Paradise pack, professors started piling homework on them all in preparation for the tests before winter break. Their workload had nearly doubled and Ashi panicked, isolating himself in the library during all his free time.

Most of the students that kept an eye on him didn’t really notice a change, but Draco and Blaise did. Instead of spending a chunk of his evenings in the company of his friends, reading or studying or playing chess with them as he usually did, Ashi used that time to bury his nose in library books. He only came back to the dorm when the library closed an hour before curfew. After that, he would spend another two hours scribbling on parchment while his friends got ready for bed.

They wouldn’t have pegged that as very unusual behavior for him, but they really started to get worried when Ashi stopped coming to meals. Despite his reassurances that he would grab something later, neither Draco nor Blaise ever saw him enter the Great Hall during the last two weeks before their finals, despite their constant look-out for him. They didn’t do anything about it for the first week because the lack of food didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Ashi. He still maintained his slim, yet strong figure and he never seemed overly tired.

But the next weekend, they decided to spend their Saturday studying with him. Not once did Ashi ever leave the library for a snack, a break, or even a drink of water, though he did leave once to use the bathroom in the afternoon, leaving Draco and Blaise by themselves at their book-covered table.

“Do you think we should say something,” asked Blaise while Ashi was gone.

“Hm? ‘Bout what?” asked Draco.

Blaise glared at him. “You know what.”

Draco glanced behind him toward the front of the library where Ashi had just been a few seconds before. “I dunno. Don’t you think he can take care of himself? You’ve seen him do it plenty of times before.

“Yeah, but this is different. He’s going nuts because he thinks these tests are a bigger deal than they are.”

“He’ll figure it out once we’re done.”

“You don’t want to help him now? He’s studying every book in here like he’s going to be asked to know all this stuff.”

“He probably does think that. Didn’t he say he’s never been to school before?”

“Yeah, he did and we’re his friends, Draco. Aren’t we supposed to help him with things he doesn’t know? I mean, he’s teaching us how to fight. Shouldn’t we teach him how to take a test?"

Draco scoffed. “Good luck getting anything through that thick skull of his.”

Blaise glared. “But we’ve gotta try. He’s gonna kill himself before the tests are over. At least try. Please? You’re the one he seems to listen to the most.”

Draco was silent for a few moments. He was fairly confident that Ashi could take care of himself, was smart enough not to deprive his body of sleep and food just so he could get good grades. He also wasn’t sure how Ashi would take his advice, especially since their big fight had been less than two weeks ago.

He sighed. “Fine. I’ll try. But I’m not promising anything. He’s just as likely to blow me off as he is to listen to me.”

Blaise shrugged. “But at least you gave it a shot. If you don’t and he dies next week, you’ll never be able to forgive yourself.”

“Like he’s ever going to die. He’s like a little cockroach. He always shows up when you least expect him to and you can’t get him to go away.”

“Who?” asked Ashi behind Draco.

Draco let out a very manly yelp and fell out of his chair. “Merlin, Ashi! Don’t do that.”

Ashi grinned. “But it’s my specialty.” He sat down next to Draco and folded his hands to form a rest for his chin. “So, who’s the cockroach you can’t get rid of.”

Draco waved his hand as he got back into his chair. “Nobody. Look, Ashi, I’ve gotta talk to you about something.”

Ashi raised his eyebrows in curiosity and waited.

Draco fidgeted, then sighed. “Blaise and I are worried about you. You. . .haven’t been. . .acting normal.”

Ashi kept waiting.

Draco also waited. For what, he didn’t know, but he waited.

Blaise huffed and said, “You’ve been driving us crazy with this studying regimen you’re on. We haven’t seen you eat, we barely see you _sleep_ , and you’re _always_ studying. You do know that these tests aren’t going to determine your place in life, right?”

“On the contrary,” said Ashi, good naturedly, “they will. Everything we do will determine our place in life.”

“Oh, shut up. None of this holier-than-thou, preachy trash,” spat Draco. “We’re serious. These tests barely count for ten percent of our grade, and they’re not going to test us on anything they haven’t covered in class, so why are you studying so hard?!”

Ashi lifted his head in surprise. “They’re not? But I heard some sixth-years telling their friends that you never know what they put on these tests.”

Blaise scrunched up his face in confusion. “What? You always know what they put on them. No one would do very well if they just asked whatever the heck they wanted.”

“Wait a minute,” said Draco. “Sixth-years? Did they mention OWLs?”

“Actually, yeah. It was kinda weird. One minute they were talking about their owls and the next they were talking about how you never knew what was on the tests.”

Blaise burst out laughing.

Draco dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

Ashi just looked confused. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Ashi,” said Draco quietly. “They were talking about OWLs: Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. Sixth years take them to figure out which classes they should focus on in their last year to prepare them for their careers. We’re not taking those. We’re taking regular tests, over the stuff we’ve studied so far this year.”

“Oh.” Ashi scrunched his face in disgust. “You mean I’ve been doing all this studying for nothing.”

“Well—” started Draco.

“Yes!” interrupted Blaise. “You don’t need to know any of this stuff until sixth or seventh year, if ever.”

“You weren’t paying attention when the Professors told us what the tests would be over?”

Ashi nodded. “I was, but I thought they were trying to trick us.”

“Are you nuts?” screeched Draco. “They’re job is to get us to graduate, not fail us in our first year!”

“Misters Malfoy, Zabini, and Potter,” muttered a husky voice next to them, startling all three boys. Madame Pince glared at them. “This is a library. . .for studying. If you can’t converse quietly here. . . _please leave.”_ She hissed the last two words at them to emphasize her point.

The Slytherins nodded sheepishly and gathered up their books under the steely gaze of the librarian. They shoved their own books in their bags and put the rest in the book-return bin, then hurried out of the library.

Madam Pince glared at them the entire time. She even stalked after them up to the front, just to make sure they really were leaving.

Once they were out of sight around a corner, all three boys started laughing.

* * *

It took a few more reassurances from Blaise and Draco over the next couple of days to convince Ashi that yes, the tests were really only going to be over material they had previously studied. By Tuesday, he was back at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall and spending his evenings in the dorm. He still carted around a dozen extra books to go through, but he had stopped being a library hermit. In fact, the closer the first tests came, the more he seemed to relax.

On the other hand, his two friends increased their panic even as Ashi calmed. By Friday, they had pretty much switched roles; Draco and Blaise were spending free time in the library and Ashi split his between studying with them and being outside—everyone else thought he was nuts to just sit outside in the cold grass in the northern winds preceding winter so out there he was pretty much left alone, which was just the way he liked it.

“How the heck are you so. . .not worried about these tests anymore, Ashi?” asked Blaise on Sunday.

They were scheduled to have their first tests, Potions and Transfiguration, the next day and all three were in the library. Blaise and Draco had their noses in their books while Ashi flipped the pages of his back and forth absentmindedly.

Ashi shrugged. “I just don’t have anything more to study. We haven’t covered a whole lot so far, and you both keep saying they won’t cover anything they haven’t taught us, so I have nothing more to do.”

Draco peeked over his book and glared. Whether he was annoyed with them for talking or jealous of Ashi for having studied already was a mystery.

Blaise shook his head in amazement. “You’re nuts.”

“Well, being normal isn’t any fun,” smiled Ashi.

A Ravenclaw at the next table shushed them and they all went back to their books.

* * *

Test week came and went. Frustrations were expressed, hair was pulled, books and pencils were thrown, but they made it through relatively unscathed. There was some relief in the middle of the week when they woke up to six inches of snow on the ground and more falling. While it had been gradually getting colder and colder as the school year wore on, they had not yet had any snow until now. Most of the students were so relieved for a change of scenery, they skipped breakfast to have some fun before they had to go inside and take more tests.

Except for that day, the castle had become almost eerily silent as students spent their time studying instead of running and shouting in the halls or flying around outside. Blaise was so depressed after the History of Magic test on Wednesday that Ashi had to promise him to plan his and Tsume’s sparring match for that Saturday just to get him to lift his head. On Friday, Blaise was so exhausted he simply ate and went to bed. Ashi and Draco weren’t much better and they all slept in late the next day.

Well, Draco and Blaise did; Ashi got up at a relatively decent hour but had nothing to do until the other boys woke up. He simply sat there, reading his Fantastic Creatures book, until they finally stirred around noon.

Oh, so slowly did they wake up, savoring each moment of freedom now that they didn’t have to worry about classes, or homework, or tests, or teachers for three weeks.

Draco was first to wake and the noise he made rolling around before he finally resigned to his fate woke Blaise as well.

Draco yawned and rubbed his face, then sat numbly on his bed for a few seconds. Finally, he looked at Ashi blearily. “Hey,” he grunted.

Ashi smiled at him.

Blaise groaned and rolled over, drawing the attention of the other two boys. They watched as he sat up abruptly and groaned as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes. “Oh, Merlin,” he whined. “What time is it?”

“Nearly time for lunch,” replied Ashi.

Blaise blinked tiredly at his wardrobe straight ahead, then fell back onto his mattress and threw his pillow over his face. “So early,” he moaned through the pillow.

“It is not, Blaise,” grumbled Draco as he slowly crawled out of bed and limped over to his own wardrobe to get dressed. “We have to pack anyways. The Hogwarts Express leaves tomorrow.”

“Why does it leave?” asked Ashi. “Where is it going?”

“Where do you think, Ashi?” said Blaise, throwing the pillow above his head. It thumped against the wall and landed halfway on his head. He left it there. “Dumbledore reminded us last night. It’s taking us back home, remember?”

Ashi shook his head. “I wasn’t there last night.” He had been back in the library double-checking some notes from an earlier class that he suspected were wrong. He had missed the end-of-term Feast, mostly on purpose as all those sweaty bodies in the same room just wasn’t that appealing to him. It was different most days since the students were never all there at any one time except at the Feasts.

“Oh yeah,” replied Blaise. “Didn’t you get a slip the other day that you were supposed to fill out about whether you were going home for the holidays or staying here?”

Ashi nodded. “Professor Snape gave it to me last week after class. Said I had until today to return it.”

“And? What did you put?” asked Draco. “Merlin, we forgot to talk to you about this. _Do_ you want to go home? Or would you rather stay here? I haven’t turned mine in either. I had too much to worry about until yesterday.”

“Yeah. Me too,” agreed Blaise. “What should we do? I think my mum is expecting me to come home, but if you guys are staying here, I will too.”

“I got an owl from Mum yesterday morning. She wants me to come home, too,” said Draco. “What do your parents want to you do, Ashi?”

Ashi shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to them. Or me, really. I guess we’ll stay here. There’s nowhere else for us to go.”

“Then we should stay with you,” said Blaise. “Otherwise you’ll be all by yourself with a bunch of Gryffindors who don’t want to go home and some Ravenclaws that spend all their time studying.”

“Yeah, but at least I’ll be away from you losers,” teased Ashi.

“Hey, we’re not the ones who the entire school is shunning because he got sorted into Slytherin,” protested Draco.

“You’re friends with me, though. That makes you two losers, too.”

“Hmph,” grunted Blaise. “Blaise Zabini is never a loser.”

“And how would Blaise Zabini know if he were a loser or not?” asked Draco.

“Blaise Zabini knows he’s not a loser because everyone still talks to him. It’s different for you two, though. No one ever seems to want to talk to you.”

“That’s because Ashi might say three words in the entire day and I have specific tastes.”

“So you’re saying that I have no standards.”

“Look, guys,” interrupted Ashi before their argument could go from teasing to insults. “You two just go home. I’ll be fine here. My family isn’t that far away.”

“But we’re supposed to be friends. We’re not supposed to just. . .up and leave you like this,” protested Blaise.

“But you also have _family_ ,” replied Ashi, copying Blaise’s tone. “You can’t just up and leave _them_. Isn’t Christmas supposed to be about family and all that stuff?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Then that’s it. Go home. You only get to see them for a few weeks. I’ll get to see your lousy faces for the entire rest of the year.”

Blaise pouted and Draco looked conflicted.

Ashi glared.

“Fi-i-ine,” wailed Blaise at last. “I’ll go home. It’s not going to be any fun, though. It’s just Mum and her newest boyfriend.”

“Who knows, Blaise,” said Draco. “You might like this one.”

Blaise snorted. “Fat chance. They only want her money. All the good ones are scared away by those rumors.”

“Even if he is a git, at least your mom will be glad to see you.”

“Yeah. I guess,” Blaise shrugged. He sat up and started getting dressed.

“So, you’re going home then?”

Blaise scrunched his face. “I guess so. I don’t really want to leave Ashi here by himself, but that’s what he wants.”

Ashi smiled at them. “Enjoy your holiday then, boys, as I will certainly enjoy mine.”

“Wait a minute, Ashi,” said Blaise. “We’ve still got one day. And your buddy promised to show us how to kick your butt tonight.”

Draco chuckled. “I’m looking forward to that. We’ll finally get to see the all-powerful Ashi eat his own words.”

Ashi scowled. “I think you guys are expecting this to be a lot worse than it actually will be.”

“Well, seeing how much muscle that guy had—Tsume you said?—I don’t think we’ll be disappointed,” sniggered Blaise as he backed up to the door and turned the handle.

Ashi threw his pillow. Blaise slipped out the door with a laugh and the pillow hit the door with a soft thump.

* * *

“So what now,” yawned Blaise as they stepped out of the Great Hall after lunch. He stretched his arms above his head.

Ashi shrugged. “We’re supposed to meet them in the dungeons at seven, so figure out what will kill six hours.

“There is nothing that will do that except for school and I’ve been doing that for the last four months. I’d like to have my vacation now, please,” said Draco.

Blaise looked down one of the halls outside, staring at the snow. “Hey, let’s go outside.”

“And do what? Freeze to death?” asked Draco sarcastically.

“I dunno. Snowball fight or something.”

“Um, no thanks.”

“Come on, Draco. It’ll be fun. Even Ashi will come, right, Ashi?”

“. . .What is a snowball fight?”

“You’ve never been in a snowball fight?! Oh, we’ve gotta do one now. Hang on a sec.”

Blaise ran back inside the Great Hall. Draco and Ashi stared at each other silently for nearly three minutes before he came back. About fifteen other Slytherins were trailing behind him.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Ashi raised an eyebrow at Blaise’s retreating back before he finally followed.

They all traipsed along the hall in one long procession, chattering aimlessly as they went.

When they got outside, the students that Blaise had found in the Great Hall just stood around, waiting for something to happen. Ashi waited with them.

Blaise walked a few more feet then bent down and gathered a handful of snow, patting it into a ball. “Alright, guys. Snowball fight!” he screamed and pitched his snow at the group.

Most of them had kept their eye on Blaise and were able to duck and move out of the way. But the snowball managed to catch a second-year straight in the face. He sputtered, wiping the snow off his face. “Oh, Merlin, that’s cold,” his wheezed. He glared at Blaise. “You said we were going to do something fun out here.”

Blaise had made another snowball by then and tossed it in the air a few times. “I did. This is fun. Or are you too chicken to throw one back,” he teased.

Everyone else backed up a few steps, muttering about how this wasn’t what they expected and that they were going to leave.

The second-year continued glaring at Blaise and bent down to make his own snowball. With extraordinarily poor aim and a rather weak arm, he threw it at Blaise.

It hit a fourth-year girl standing six feet to his left in the shoulder. She cried out and turned a heated glare on the boy. Immediately she picked up a handful of snow and charged toward him.

The boy screamed and started to run, but the kids around him caught his arms and held him, laughing, while the girl marched up and stuck the whole handful of snow down the back of his robes. The boy fell to the ground, arching his back and trying to get the snow out.

The girl grinned mischievously and picked up another handful of snow. The two boys that had held her target cackled gleefully, thinking she was going to give the first boy another dose of cold. They screamed when she turned and managed to fling the snow right in the face of one of them.

Soon about half of the group were tossing snowballs at each other and shoving snow down the backs of robes. Within several minutes most of them were shrieking and laughing unabashedly and those too dignified to laugh just growled every time they got a mouthful of snow.

Ashi watched for a few minutes before he, too, joined in and started throwing snow left and right. He ducked and weaved through the crowd, nailing those who least expected it in the shoulder with a well-aimed snowball. Every time he made a circuit around the group, he handed a few pre-made snowballs to a thoroughly-stunned Draco, who tossed them half-heartedly at a few people until he was suddenly the target of a few sixth-years; then he started making his own and pitching them with all the new strength he had gained from Ashi’s training.

The Slytherins that thought themselves too good to have fun started to walk away from the chaos, but were quickly pulled in when someone thought to rile them up with a snowball to the back.

Fifteen minutes later, a stray snowball flew into the midst of a passing Hufflepuff group and hit one of them. They huddled together for a few seconds after, unnoticed by the Slytherins, before one of them let out a war cry and the group plunged into the midst of battle.

It became Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin. Several on each side pelted each other with snowballs while the rest of their respective groups piled up snow to hide behind.

Both sides accumulated more and more players as time went on from all four Houses. Whenever a group of Gryffindors showed up, they always sided with the Hufflepuffs against the ‘evil’ Slytherins. The green House was starting to get overwhelmed when a few Ravenclaws took pity on them and joined in the game.

Ashi spent the game playing as a frontliner in the open between the two snow forts, ducking below his enemy’s ammo and tossing his own back at them with an almost-feral grin.

Once, he caught sight of Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore passing along the outside corridor. They stopped to watch the game for a while before Dumbledore took a few steps forward, scooped up some snow, and pitched it hard into the midst of the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. It hit a Gryffindor in the shoulder.

Ashi couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face when he realized the Gryffindor was Jacob Livingstone, the seventh-year bully that had been trying—unsuccessfully—to torment Ashi through the school year.

Jacob turned to see who had thrown the snowball and his gaze landed on Ashi. With a vicious sneer, he nudged the boy next to him, his friend Derek Grey, and they both gathered up all the premade snowballs near them and started bombarding Ashi with them as hard as they could.

Ashi ducked the first few and turned to look back at Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall looked like she was giving him a stern talking-to, but Dumbledore ignored her in favor of flashing a small smile at Ashi.

Ashi fought the urge to smile back. As much as he enjoyed seeing adults lose their composure and act like children, he hadn’t forgotten how manipulative this particular adult could be. He didn’t want to be giving the headmaster any false ideas that Ashi was starting to soften his attitude toward him.

Ashi’s attention was thrown back into the game when a snowball smacked against the side of his face. He put a hand up to his stinging cheek and glared at Jacob, who was smiling gleefully. Ashi dropped his hand and allowed his most manic grin to cross his face.

Jacob stopped smiling and fear tinged the edges of his eyes.

Ashi bent down to make another snowball and continue his attack.

The game went on for several hours. Neither side was willing to forfeit their victory just because they were tired. It only ended when both sides had used up all the snow around them and had started digging into their snow forts for ammo. But soon that was gone as well and the students were left with nothing but mud. After the last snowball was thrown, they came to a silent agreement that they were finished.

Ashi sat down in a patch of frozen grass that was not quite as muddy as others, panting. He looked around at his fellow players. Most had ended up on the ground as well, in varying degrees of exhaustion. He spotted Blaise a few feet away, sprawled out on his back.

He smiled when he saw Ashi looking at him. “Well?” he panted. “Wasn’t that fun?”

Ashi gave him a small smile and nodded. “I have never done that before. I didn’t know a game like that existed.”

Draco hobbled over and dropped between them. “If you liked that, you should try playing Quidditch.”

Ashi scrunched his nose a bit. “That game you play on brooms?”

“Aw, come on, Ashi,” said Blaise, sitting up. “Is it really that scary up there for you?”

“It is not the heights that I am afraid of. I have been to plenty of high places before with no problem. But I had the ground under my feet, not fifty feet below me. It is not flying I have a problem with; it’s falling.”

“Hardly anyone ever falls,” said Draco. “And even if you do, you’ll be treated with magic. You’ll be all better in less than five minutes.”

Ashi gave them a dubious look.

“If you would just come to flying lessons,” said Blaise. “You would see that it’s not so bad.”

After that first lesson, he had stopped going, even though the class was mandatory. Nothing his friends said had ever convinced him to leave the ground as he knew Madame Hooch would require of him. Several times, a teacher had been sent to escort him to flying class, but each time he managed to give them the slip. Finally, he had snapped at Madame Hooch that he would rather fail the class than attend.

Ashi was silent as he thought some more about being on a broomstick.

“Come on. We’ll go get some brooms right now and show you,” said Draco.

Blaise groaned before Ashi could shoot down the idea. “No way. I’m too tired. I wanna go inside and take a nap.”

Draco scowled, but he knew that without Blaise’s help, there was no way he was going to convince Ashi to get on a broom. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s go, then. Or else we’ll sleep through dinner.”

* * *

All three slept soundly until dinner time. After his nap, Blaise was positively giddy with excitement for the sparring match. He shoveled his dinner off his plate and into his mouth with record speed and practically carried Ashi and Draco back down the stairs to their usual training room. It didn’t matter that there was still at least another half hour before Ashi’s family showed up; Blaise was ready to go.

He proved it by bouncing around the walls while they waited, doing a few push-ups or crunches here and there and chattering his friends’ ears off with his excitement.

“How fast do you think Ashi will get beaten?” he asked for the fifth time. He plowed on without waiting for an answer. “Think they’ll have some new moves? How much stronger are they than you? How long have they been training? Years and years, I bet, huh?”

Blaise paused and a huge grin spread across his face. “Think they’ll let me have a go at them?”

“If you’re not strong enough to beat Ashi, why would you want to get your butt whipped even worse by one of us,” sniggered Toboe as he stepped into the room, followed by Hige, Tsume, and Kiba.

Ashi smiled and waved at each of them.

Toboe shot him a cheesy grin. “Hey, Ashi.”

“I dunno,” Blaise interrupted. “New experience, I guess.”

Draco snorted contemptuously. “New ways to land with your face in the dirt, you mean.”

“So what?” quipped Blaise. “That means they used a new move.”

“Indeed. Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Draco drawled. “I still have a few things to pack.”

“Anything you say, your majesty,” mocked Tsume.

Draco narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Tsume, but moved out of the way and sat down on one of the chairs lining the walls.

Blaise chittered with glee and found his own chair.

Ashi’s pack stood near the door to watch.

“Ready?” asked Tsume with a quirk of his lips. He didn’t give Ashi the chance to reply before he charged forward.

Ashi was ready. Tsume had played this trick many times over his years of training.

Tsume threw a right hook at the younger wolf.

Ashi ducked easily, using his momentum to swing a leg out and try to kick Tsume to the ground.

Tsume jumped back, over Ashi’s leg, and stepped in close again before Ashi could get back up.

They threw punches at each other, dodging and weaving around the room. Tsume landed a punch or two to Ashi’s sides, but Ashi was never quick enough.

After a dozen swings, Tsume decided to kick it up a notch. A small smile crossed his face and he shot off two hits in quick succession.

Ashi blocked the first punch, but wasn’t expecting the second. Tsume’s fist was two inches from Ashi’s face before he noticed it and leaned back again. His legs complained at the awkward position they were in and Ashi lost his balance, falling on his back. Tsume drew back his leg and Ashi instantly rolled over to avoid the kick.

As soon as Ashi turned his back, Tsume set his leg down and quickly knelt to catch Ashi’s neck in a choke hold.

In a moment of panic, Ashi could do nothing but pull at Tsume’s arm. He tugged and jerked around to no avail. Tsume tightened his grip and Ashi gasped for air.

“Turn, Ashi,” called Kiba, kneeling to get a better view.

Ashi sucked in another breath of air and turned his head. At the same time, he reversed the grip of his right hand and pushed.

Tsume’s hand slipped and he immediately reestablished his hold.

Ashi used the change of focus as an opportunity to throw his head back, right into Tsume’s nose.

Tsume groaned and his grip slipped some more.

Ashi got one of his legs under him and pushed up.

Tsume had more stability than Ashi and used it keep himself from moving. When Ashi pushed harder, Tsume let himself fall, taking Ashi with him and trapping Ashi’s legs with his own.

Now that he had no leverage, Ashi could do nothing more than wriggle weakly as he slowly ran out of breath. Nevertheless, he kept struggling; there had to be a way to escape, he just had to remember it.

“Come on, Ashi,” said Toboe. “Just tap out.”

No. He could still do this. He just had to remember how. But with every passing second, oxygen was being replaced with panic.

“Tap out, Ashi,” growled Tsume in his ear.

Just a few more seconds. If he could just—

With a final gasp, Ashi slapped his hand against Tsume’s arm. Immediately, Tsume lifted his hands away and stood up. Ashi rolled to his front and coughed a few times.

“Wow,” Blaise deadpanned, clapping slowly. “You lasted a whole five seconds longer than I thought you would.”

“Shut up,” rasped Ashi. “I’d like to see you last any longer against him.”

“He’s got a point, though,” said Toboe. “None of us can last very long against Tsume. Except maybe Kiba.”

“Well maybe if you practiced more you would get better,” growled Tsume.

“Nah,” drawled Hige, folding his hands on the back of his head. “I like my skills just where they are, thanks.”

Blaise raised his hand. “I’d like to improve my skills, Professor!”

Tsume squinted at him. “You sure you’ve been training them right, Ashi. He looks pretty skinny.”

Ashi stood next to Tsume. “You should have seen them before I started on them.”

“ _They_ are right here and _they_ do not appreciate being talked about as if _they_ were not in the room,” glared Draco. “Are you gonna fight Blaise or not?”

Tsume examined Blaise once more then sighed. “Sure. Why not?”

“Yes,” hissed Blaise and jumped off his chair.

Ashi smirked as he walked over to stand by his pack.

Toboe leaned down to Ashi’s ear. “How long do you think he’ll last?”

Ashi shrugged. “It depends on how high Tsume sets his difficulty level.”

“Come on,” whispered Hige. “You must have some idea how good he is. You’ve been training him.”

Ashi’s lips slid to one side of his mouth. “Well…I’ll give him a minute.”

Hige tsked. “That’s a long time, Ashi. You sure you want to do that?”

“Hey, he’s my student. I should have a little faith in him, shouldn’t I?”

“He’s got a point, Hige. But he’s not my student. I say he won’t last thirty seconds,” said Toboe.

“Still a long time. I’ll give him fifteen,” bet Hige. “What about you, Kiba? Got anything to contribute.”

Kiba tilted his head as he watched Blaise step in front of Tsume and raise his fists. “He won’t make it past the first punch.”

“Ooh,” chuckled Hige. “Kiba doesn’t have much faith in you or you student, Ashi. That’s quite the blow.”

“No,” interrupted Kiba. “Tsume’s been in a bad mood today. He won’t be playing around. Now, let’s see who gets the best sleeping spot for the next two weeks.”

They all turned their attention to the fight.

Blaise was grinning madly. “I’m ready. Let’s go. Hit me with your best shot.”

The corner of Tsume’s mouth rose and he shot a skeptical look with his pack before turning back to Blaise. “Alright. If you’re sure.”

Blaise didn’t even get to blink before Tsume was darting toward him with a right hook. He fell like a rock, knocked out by the first blow.

* * *

The next day, Ashi saw them off on the Hogwarts Express. Blaise complained some more about having to go meet his mother’s new boyfriend (and his fresh black eye) and Draco kept scowling the entire morning. They got on the train without much fuss, though.

Ashi watched it pull away from the platform, lifting a hand in a small wave to his friends. 

Finally, finally he would be able to spend some time just being a wolf again. There were only a handful of students and a few professors that were staying at Hogwarts during the holidays, so he was pretty sure no one would notice him disappear. After all, they were used to him sneaking around the castle by now.

Winter break was two weeks long. Two weeks for him to spend with his pack, his family, doing what they liked most: living and surviving together. It would be pure bliss.


	24. Unveiling

Chapter 24: Unveiling

* * *

Ashi spent the next two weeks lazying around the forest with his pack. They spent their days hunting or napping and their nights traveling. He was sure that no one would really notice his absence, so he had convinced the pack that they could explore the countryside. Of course, the pack had already covered the land they could travel to and from in a day, but now they had a chance to really explore and get their bearings. They circled around the castle, going far enough out that they crossed into some new territory but close enough that Ashi could make an appearance every three or four days.

So it was a happy, thoroughly-exhausted wolf that returned to the castle the day before the Hogwarts Express was due back. He greeted Draco and Blaise at the platform and they all bantered back and forth on the way back to the castle with the rest of the throng of students.

Blaise was complaining about how moony-eyed his mother had been over her new boyfriend's muscles the entire break, and Draco kept a scowl on his face as he told them of his father's strictness and how his mother fawned over him the entire time.

"Honestly, I don't know how they get along so well," he said. "They're complete opposites. He's always griping on about keeping to the pureblood standard and she's getting after him about letting me enjoy my childhood."

"Oooh," purred Blaise. "Sounds like somebody's finally starting to have some daddy issues."

"Shut up, Blaise. I've always had problems."

"But you've never voiced them."

"That's cause I know everyone will trip over each other to tell him to get on his good side."

Blaise scrunched his nose. "I don't think I'd trust them if they tried to get on _my_ good side by tattling on my son."

"At least you know they won't hesitate to tell you if someone's doing something wrong," said Ashi.

"Yeah," agreed Blaise hesitantly. "But that also means they don't really care for each other, you know. Enough about that. What did you guys get for Christmas?"

Draco shrugged. "Mum got me a sweater and some candy. Dad gave me a wand holster."

"Sweet!" exclaimed Blaise. "I wish my mum gave me a wand holster. She just gave me a whole bunch of Galleons and told me to get whatever I wanted." He folded his hands behind his head lazily. "So I just got some candy and a broom kit and this mirror that's supposed to let you see the face of your crush."

Draco made a face. "Why would you want _that_?"

"I dunno. I figured I would sell it to one of the older students for a profit. I'm trying to save up for a Nimbus 2000."

"Won't your mom buy it for you?" asked Ashi.

"Yeah, but whenever she does that it feels so cheap, y'know? So I like to save up on my own for the big stuff. What about you, Ashi? What did you get for Christmas?"

"Nothing."

"What? Nothing?" blurted Blaise. His mouth dropped open.

"Don't need anything."

"Christmas isn't about _need_. It's about _want_. Isn't there anything that you _want_?"

Ashi thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No."

"Merlin, Ashi! Everybody wants _something_."

"You're right. I do want something."

Draco quirked an eyebrow. "Really? What?"

"To change the subject."

* * *

A month and a half went by without incident, other than Blaise complaining about more homework, and Jacob and Derek trying to spell them to the ceiling or send their books flying. But those two had their NEWTs this year and didn't have much free time to spend pestering first-year Slytherins—or so Blaise and Draco assured him. Ashi wasn't so sure.

He met Hermione Granger a few more times in the library and they became part-time study-buddies. He was pleased to have her as a friend. She had so many ingenious ways to remember terms, dates, definitions, and even wand movements. In return, Ashi's enthusiasm encouraged her as many of the other Gryffindors, while intent on keeping their grades up, were not quite as eager to spend their weekends in the library as she was.

The rest of January passed quickly and then, overnight, there was pink and red everywhere. Streamers decorated the hallways, little hearts lined the windowsills, and rose petals adorned benches. An overwhelming scent of perfume and flowers permeated the air and Ashi coughed several times before they had even made it to the Great Hall for Breakfast.

He didn't think too much of it. Pranks were not uncommon at Hogwarts, although he hadn't seen anyone pull off one on such a large scale. But he actually stopped in the middle of the doorway when he saw all the hubbub in the Great Hall.

Dozens of owls flitted back and forth between students and over the tables, carrying pink and red envelopes; some of the envelopes were even heart-shaped. More rose petals covered the tables beneath the dishes and several banners declaring "Love is in the air" and "Happy Valentine's Day" crisscrossed the room.

"What the hell is going on?" he whispered.

"What do you mean?" muttered Draco irritably. "It's Valentine's Day."

"Yeah," grinned Blaise. "Can't you smell the 'love in the air'?" He sniggered at he stared at the banners.

Draco shivered as they sat down at the Slytherin table. "The one day of the year I wish I was at home." He dropped his head in his hands.

"Why?" asked Ashi. "What's so bad about it?" Besides the sickly-sweet _haze_ enveloping the entire castle, that is.

"You're kidding, right?" Draco deadpanned. "It's the worst day of the year. All the girls making googly eyes at everyone and whispering everywhere."

"I bet we'll see at least a dozen people kissing before we get to class," chirped Blaise.

"Why are you so excited about it?" muttered Draco.

Blaise grinned. "This is the perfect time to practice the lock-lip spell I learned last week."

Draco matched his grin. "You have my blessing."

Ashi rubbed his eyes. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Fourteen lip-locks, five love-potion mishaps, and nine fake love letters later, Draco, Blaise, and Ashi finally sat down to the Valentine's Day mini-feast.

"That was great, wasn't it?" giggled Blaise. "I wish it could be Valentine's Day every month."

Ashi groaned.

"It would certainly liven it up a bit," agreed Draco. "I actually don't think I hate this holiday anymore. As long as you keep this up, Blaise."

"My pleasure."

"Why do you hate Valentine's Day?" asked Ashi.

Draco scowled. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Blaise leaned over and whispered rather loudly across Draco, "He once had this girl who had a crush on him and she stalked him for months before she finally showed up on Valentine's Day and confessed her love. She went nuts and almost killed him when he rejected her."

"Seriously? But you're eleven."

Draco groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

Blaise shrugged. "Guess she hit puberty early."

The Hall suddenly went silent as Headmaster Dumbledore stood up. As was customary for any significant holiday, he gave a short speech. This time it was mostly about how tender and sweet young love was. All through the Hall boys gagged and girls giggled until he finally sat down. Food appeared and everyone got busy eating.

Ashi was picking at a piece of ham when the doors creaked open and shy, stuttering Professor Quirrell came hurrying in. He staggered up between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, huffing and puffing for all he was worth. He made it about halfway to the Head Table when he finally stopped and squeaked something.

Most of the Hall had ignored him, thinking he was just late to dinner—it wasn't all that uncommon. But they quickly stopped chattering when they noticed how panicked he looked.

Professor Quirrell took a breath and shouted as loud as he could. "Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" His shoulders sagged wearily. "Though you ought to know," he muttered. He pitched forward in a dead faint.

Noise filled the Hall. Several students screamed and most were already on their feet to begin running out the door. Dumbledore shot off several fireworks from his wand before everyone calmed down enough to listen to him.

"Prefects!" he shouted. "Lead your Houses to the dormitories!"

The shouting started up again, albeit a little more subdued as students remembered they were with one of the most powerful wizards in the world. This time, it was prefects shouting for their Houses to "Come this way! Follow me!" and friends looking for other friends.

"A troll?" asked Blaise in the din as they all stood up and shuffled their way to the doors. "How do you suppose it got in? They're supposed to be really stupid, right?"

"Maybe someone let it in as a prank," scoffed Draco.

"Nah. The only ones brave enough to do something like that are the Weasley twins and Peeves, but they're not stupid enough for that. What do you think, Ashi?"

Ashi shrugged and bumped shoulders with yet another student. He hissed through his teeth. Didn't they all know how dangerous it was for them to be packed so tightly together? If the troll managed to get up here, they were all sitting ducks. "Watch it!" he snapped when someone stepped on his foot.

The boy turned with a startled look on his face. "S-sorry. I'm—Ashi!" he exclaimed.

Ashi glared at Neville Longbottom, not so mad at him specifically as he was about this whole situation. "What?" he growled as he shoved someone to the side so they would stop leaning into him.

Neville shrank beneath Ashi's gaze and said, "H-have you seen Hermione?"

"Ron said, said something about her and she, she overheard and now I can't find her."

"So? Ron says a lot of things."

"Well, he, he said the reason she doesn't have any friends is because she s-spends all her time in, in the library and that she's a stuck-up know-it-all."

Next to them, Blaise barked a laugh. "That Ron sure knows how to make a girl feel special, don't he?"

Neville stared nervously at Blaise, then turned back to Ashi. "Do you know where she is?" When Ashi shook his head, Neville let out a little whimper. He chewed his nails for a second. "You, could you go look for her?"

"Why should _we_ go look for a _mudblood_?" snarled Draco.

Ashi elbowed him. Draco crossed his arms and scowled.

Neville puffed up and said, "Because she's a human being, too." Immediately, he deflated and went back to chewing his nails. He fell forward into Ashi's chest when someone bumped him from behind.

Ashi glared at the person who had pushed Neville.

Ron ducked his head and muttered something.

Neville gaped at him. "Ron?" he squeaked. "H-have you seen Hermione?"

Ron shrugged. "No, why? And why should I be the one to always know where she is?" He paused, then sighed and answered, "I heard she was in the bathroom down the way."

Neville perked up a bit then deflated. "She doesn't know about the troll. We need to go find her."

By now they were free of the doors and the students had the opportunity to spread out as they all headed to their respective dorms. Neville took a few steps toward the girls' bathroom when he suddenly stopped and looked back at Ashi, shifting on his feet. "Could you, could you come with me?" he squeaked.

Ashi hesitated, then huffed quietly under his breath and nodded.

"Hey!" protested Ron. "Why are you asking _him_? He's Slytherin. He'd probably just as soon let the troll eat her than help."

Draco squinted at Ron. "Because you're the reason she's not at dinner, and it's not like anyone else really cares about her."

Ron's face turned as red as his hair. "Come on, Neville," he barked. "Let's go find Hermione." He started marching off down the hall.

Neville twisted his head to glance between Ron and Ashi a few times before he hurried after the Gryffindor.

Ashi blinked at them, then followed. Might as well tag along to make sure they didn't do anything stupid, like send her scurrying away again by some offhand snide remark.

Blaise and Draco stood where they were, watching them leave. Blaise cracked a grin and nudged Draco. "Come on. It'll be fun." He hurried after Ashi.

Draco hesitated, resolute in his determination not to help a _mudblood_. Then he sighed and followed them down the corridor. After all, someone had to be around to make sure the Weasley didn't stab them all in the back.

It was ridiculously easy to slip away from the rest of the group and they only had to hide once when Professor Snape marched his way past them up a perpendicular staircase.

They were two corridors away from their destination when an awful spell invaded Ashi's nose and he doubled over, nearly throwing up. He had never smelled something so gross; a mixture of moldy socks, dirty public restrooms, and body odor.

The group stopped and looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Draco bluntly.

"You don't smell _that_?" Ashi nearly shrieked, then immediately closed his mouth. Ugh, he could _taste_ it now. He stiffened abruptly. He could hear slow, heavy, echoing footsteps heading their way and low grunting noises. They didn't sound like they were from a human.

"No, what?" asked Ron. At the same time, Ashi shushed them and shoved them against a wall.

"Shut up," he hissed. "I think it's here."

"Here?" squeaked Neville. He started trembling. "Oh, Merlin. What are we going to do?"

"Go back, duh," answered Draco. "We gotta get as far away from it as possible."

He started heading back down the corridor toward the Great Hall.

"But-but Hermione's supposed to be over there," wailed Neville.

Ashi growled in frustration. "Stay here," he muttered and sneaked over to the edge of the wall. When he peeked around and saw no troll he hurried to the end of that wall and peeked around again.

There it was, twice as tall as the tallest man Ashi had ever seen with lumpy grey skin, its muscles rippling with power. A tiny bald head perched on top of its shoulders. Long ears wagged as it trudged down the hall, grunting stupidly every few seconds. It dragged a huge club the size of a large man along the stone behind it.

Ashi bent over and gagged when he caught another whiff of the creature's stench.

"Ugh, it's disgusting," said Blaise behind him.

Ashi whirled around and stared at the four boys. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

Ron puffed out his chest and said, "We're not letting you go after it alone."

"Y-yeah," agreed Neville, even though he looked like he was about to faint.

Ashi glared, but it was going to be futile to try to convince them the stay behind. They would either ignore him and come along anyway or he would spend so long convincing them that the troll would find them or Hermione.

"Just don't do anything stupid. I won't have time to protect your sorry backsides," he finally growled.

Blaise grinned and Draco nodded while Neville just turned whiter. Ron scowled like he was offended at the idea that a _Slytherin_ would have to protect him. Or maybe he just didn't believe a Slytherin _would_ protect him.

They peered around the corner again and watched as the troll came to a doorway and stared at it for a moment before it lumbered inside.

"Great!" whispered Blaise. "Maybe we can lock it in there."

"You idiot!" Draco smacked the back of Blaise's head. Blaise rubbed at the spot sullenly. "That's the girls' bathroom. That's where the mudblood is supposed to be."

Ashi stood up and started creeping down the hall. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to catch Hermione's eye and help her sneak out before the troll caught sight of her.

A piercing scream bounced around the walls and Ashi winced. Too late.

Ron charged around the corner, pulling out his wand and shouting, "Hermione!"

Ashi tried to grab him on his way past but missed by millimeters. "Wait, you moron!" he hissed. "You can't just—"

Ron disappeared through the door.

Ashi groaned and pulled out his own wand. He reached the girls' bathroom just in time to see Ron shoot off some spell that missed the troll by a foot. In the time it took for the spell to crash against the opposite wall in a rain of light, Ashi had taken in the scene and half-formed a battle plan.

The first thing he noticed was the stench. It was so strong now that Ashi nearly passed out. But he knew if he did so, he would never wake up. So he did his best to close off his nostrils and scanned the room. He could see Hermione cowering beneath the sinks on the far side of the bathroom and the troll staring down at her. It had just started leaning down to grab at her when Ron had shot off the spell, which was part of the reason why he had missed so spectacularly.

The flash of light got the troll's attention and it ignored Hermione in favor of staring at its new opponents.

In front of him, Ashi heard Ron gulp.

"Stupefy!" shouted Ashi. The spell hit the troll square in the chest and it stumbled back.

It pawed at the tiny spot of red skin and bellowed at the top of its lungs, showing off yellowed, sharp teeth.

The cry was so loud and sudden that Ashi nearly blacked out. He hadn't even had time to attempt to cover his ears. He just stood there, arm still raised—ears ringing and vision blurry—as if _he_ had been hit with the stunning jinx and not the troll. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ron beckoning to Hermione.

She didn't move more than two feet before troll bellowed again, slightly-less loudly, and charged the two boys, hefting its club over its head.

Ears still ringing, Ashi lunged forward a few steps and grabbed Ron who yelled in fright when he saw the troll's attack. They fell sideways, the club only just missing them. Ceramic tiles splintered under the blow.

The troll lifted its club and grinned down at the spot it had hit, obviously expecting to see crushed humans there. It stared stupidly for a few seconds before it finally dawned on it that it had missed.

Ashi pushed Ron under the sinks while the monster was distracted. They huddled there together, not daring to move in case the troll saw them.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Ron as they watched the troll peer around the bathroom for them.

"I'm thinking!" hissed Ashi. But it was hard to think. His ears were still ringing a bit and a massive headache was forming.

Apparently, he wasn't thinking fast enough, because the troll grew frustrated at its lack of progress and screamed again. It began waving its club around wildly, smashing the bathroom stalls three at a time.

Hermione screamed at the first loud crash, then quickly covered her mouth and stared at the boys silently as the troll continued its rampage. She didn't dare move for fear of attracting the beast's attention.

It was finished with the stalls in a few seconds and turned toward the sinks. It raised its club again but stumbled off balance from a spell before it could bring it down.

"Reducto!" shouted Draco and the club burst into wood shavings.

The troll stared at its now-empty hand, then turned to glare at Draco and Blaise in the doorway. It clenched its fists and roared angrily at them. It charged.

Ashi watched in horror as his friends just stood there, wands raised but faces pale and mouths open and silent in shock, as the monster quickly closed the space between them. It would be on them in a matter of seconds, smashing them to bloody bits, and the only defensive spell Ashi knew would have no effect on it, not even to distract it now with how angry it was.

He panicked. He threw away his wand and ran to meet the beast. In the blink of an eye, he shifted into a wolf and leaped into the air. His front feet clawed for purchase and pierced skin, tearing at ligaments and meeting bone, while his fangs sunk just as deeply into the soft flesh of the troll's forearm.

It.

Was.

Disgusting.

A taste worse than decade-old garbage filled his mouth and he nearly dropped to the ground to vomit. But he held on, clenching his teeth harder, eyes watering at the awful combination of taste and stench, as the troll stopped its rampage to rage in pain. Distantly, Ashi heard a scream, this one human, echo around the room with the troll's.

It swung its arms around, dislodging Ashi. He landed nimbly on his feet, green blood dripping from his open maw. The troll inspected its injured arm, then glared at Ashi. Ashi retaliated by growling and snapping his jaws a few times.

With a moan, the monster reached down to grab at the wolf. Ashi dodged its grasp and darted around its legs, slashing at them as he passed. It grunted kicked sluggishly at him but missed.

Ashi's paws skidded on the slick floor as he switched directions to spring up to its chest, clawing up its front to its shoulder. The troll jerked up and tried to grab him again. Ashi leaped to the other shoulder, scratching at its eyes on the way.It roared and swiped at him with its other hand.

Several of Ashi's ribs snapped and he let out a yelp as the troll's fist made contact with his side, throwing him onto the wreckage of the bathroom stalls with a crunch. He lay there for a moment, stunned and pained, before standing. He growled at the troll, spots of blood dripping to the floor from several small cuts made by the wood and nails that were his landing pad.

It was busy wiping at its face and simpering.

Ashi limped off the mass of splintered wood and ceramic to find better purchase. Now he was behind the troll. Despite the pain, he wasted no time in gathering himself and leaping at its back and climbing. It screamed as his claws tore open fresh gashes and it stumbled around, scrambling to remove him.

Ashi managed to bite onto a thick chunk of the back of the troll's neck before it grabbed his leg, crushing it instantly, and flung him into the mirrors. The glass shattered around him as Ashi bounced off the sinks and dropped to the floor with a yelp and a whimper. His blood was now mixing with the troll's on the floor, swirling together in a grisly imitation of Christmas decorations.

The troll pitched forward with a loud, wet thump in the middle of the bathroom. Ashi spat out the hunk of grey flesh he had taken with him in his fall and just lay there. He trembled with the pain of several broken bones and scads of deep cuts. He could feel the glass digging into his skin, cutting deeper every time he shifted, but he didn't have the energy to get up.

For a few seconds, there was silence in the room, save the drip-drip of the broken faucets and Ashi's pained whining. Then there was a scramble of rustling fabric and footsteps. He blinked away the pain-induced haze and saw a halo of brown. He recognized immediately as Hermione's hair. He almost laughed, at what he couldn't figure out, but it had something to do with how bushy it was.

"Oh, God," she squeaked above him. "Ashi? Ashi, are you alright? I mean, of course you're not alright. You're bl-bleed-…Oh, God, there's so much blood. I don't know any spells. There's nothing in our books about something like this…A professor, I have to get a professor. They'll know what to do."

She disappeared from his view—although no footsteps took her from his side—and he relaxed his head back onto the cold, hard ground, eyes closing. His ears swiveled as he heard more voices join her.

"We have to get a professor," repeated Hermione. "Ron, find a professor for him."

Ron had stood up while Hermione was tittering over Ashi and just stared at the wolf, dumbfounded. He was silent for a moment before he said, "Why should I? He's a werewolf. He's dangerous."

"But that doesn't mean he has to die!" screeched Hermione. She turned to look at the Slytherins. "You, Blaise, right? You're his friend. Please find someone to help him."

Blaise was conflicted and his face showed it. On the one hand, Ron was right; werewolves were dangerous. There was no telling when one would lose control of its senses and attack the first person it saw. On the other, Ashi had just saved all their lives, and he was Blaise's friend. They had been living together without incident for half a year.

He hesitated too long in making his decision because Draco suddenly huffed and turned around, marching quickly down the corridor. He didn't make to the corner before a large body crashed into him. He stumbled back, holding his nose, and opened his mouth to yell at the person. He immediately shut his mouth when he saw who it was.

"Professor Snape," Draco breathed, then straightened. "Please hurry. There's…he's…injured." The words slowly died as Draco tried to find a way to explain the situation without giving away Ashi's secret—he wasn't sure how he felt about it, but he was certain he wanted to figure it out before the adults did something about it first.

Professor Snape pushed past him and hurried down the hall. "Who's injured?" he asked on the way.

"I-he," stammered Draco, still trying to figure out what to say. He needn't have, though, because Snape lost interest in him as soon as he stepped through the doorway.

The troll's cooling body still lay in the middle of the room, taking up most of the space. Next to its leg, beneath several broken sinks, lay a huge pitch-black wolf, clearly injured. The Granger girl leaned over him, pressing her hands into his sides, covered in blood. Her eyes pleaded with him from across the room.

Snape was wary, though. The troll could still be alive; they were known to play dead, then suddenly get up and start flailing, not with any real form of attack but they could still do quite a bit of damage. He approached cautiously and peered at its neck. When he didn't see any pulse, he continued to the wolf and Granger.

He was cautious with _it_ as well. Here was another creature that could easily kill him without a second thought. But even from a distance, he could see it was heavily injured. Its chest was caved in and its back leg crushed. Blood flowed freely from several dozen cuts across its body, legs, and snout.

"Please help him," whispered Granger when he reached them.

He looked at her, face blank but inside he was roiling with doubt. Who knew what this creature really was or how it had gotten in the castle. Still, it was in pain—and despite being Slytherin and a Death Eater, he hated seeing living things in pain—and the wounds on the troll _looked_ like they might have been inflicted by the wolf.

He made his decision. He had a few spells in his arsenal that could help. He knew a spell for bandages, for healing broken bones, and for pain relief, but that was it. He spoke the last quickly and the wolf heaved a great sigh as its pain diminished, but it still didn't move.

Snape levitated the wolf off the glass. Several pieces clinked to the floor as gravity pulled them from the wolf's hide. The wolf opened its great yellow eye. Snape stiffened, but the wolf didn't do anything other than pant softly and stare at him.

The bathroom was such a disaster that the only clear place for him to put it down was the open corridor. He stepped gingerly through the carnage, blood dripping to the floor the entire way.

As soon as the wolf was out of the room and on the ground, Snape sent his Patronus to find Poppy Pomphrey and conjured some bandages. He gingerly pressed them to the wolf's torso to staunch the bleeding. It closed its eye and whimpered hoarsely every few seconds, but otherwise didn't move, breaths coming out in ragged, wet pants.

Granger knelt by its head, reaching out cautiously to touch its head. Snape watched carefully, but the wolf didn't move. She gently stroked its head, snout, and ears, trying to comfort it. Tears pricked her eyes when the wolf coughed harshly then immediately whined again.

Snape didn't dare use the bone-binding spell on its ribs in case they had punctured organs. The bone would be the only thing keeping from pouring into or out of any internal holes. He had no way to even tell if there was internal bleeding, let alone stop it, so it was best to wait for Poppy.

While he worked, he noticed the youngest Weasley boy, as well as Blaise and Draco, had gathered around to watch. He looked up at them, searching for injuries. They were dirty and shell-shocked, but otherwise fine.

"What happened?" he asked.

They all looked at each other but didn't answer.

Snape grew impatient. "I found all of you in the same room as a dead troll and… _this,"_ he gestured to the wolf, "and Mr. Longbottom is out cold around the corner. You all better have a good explanation."

"Well—" whispered Ron.

"It was my fault, sir," blurted Hermione. "I was late to dinner and they came to find me. The troll got here first, but the wolf appeared and killed it."

He squinted at her, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. Her bottom lip trembled, but he attributed that to shock and fear. "Hnn. Very well."

Footsteps echoed behind them and Madame Pomphrey appeared from around a corner. She huffed and puffed as she ran toward them. She nearly tripped over her own feet when she stopped and shrieked when she saw what they were gathered around.

"Please, Madame Pomphrey," begged Hermione before the nurse could do anything else. "Save it, please. It saved us."

Madame Pomphrey looked at the wolf, then at the students, then at Severus. He stared back at her, then glanced at the open bathroom. She leaned forward and looked around the doorjamb. She turned a bit green when she saw the troll and leaned back, clearing her throat. "Is this true, Severus?" she asked.

"As far as I can tell," he replied smoothly.

She hummed, then slowly knelt down next to the wolf. She watched its head, searching for signs it was about to attack, but it didn't move, didn't open its eyes, didn't so much as twitch at her presence.

She took a shaky breath and reached forward to inspect its wounds—Severus's bandages dissolving as she touched them—speaking magic over them where she could to close the wounds and ease the pain. The longer she looked, the more she found. The more she found, the more worried she got. "Oh dear," she whispered. Once she was done parting its fur to look for cuts, she gently pressed against its caved-in chest.

It yelped and reached its head around, growling, its open mouth inches from clamping around Poppy's hands. She froze, but it just dropped its head back down to the floor and heaved out a cough. Blood spattered across Hermione's robes and she looked worriedly at the nurse.

"Hurry," Poppy said. "Can we turn it over?"

Severus nodded and grabbed the wolf's back legs while Poppy took hold of the front. It let out a long, low whine when its crushed leg was touched, but the Professors were quick about turning him and soon let go.

Hermione scooted closer to his head and continued stroking it gently, petting his snout and rubbing between his ears.

Madame Pomphrey got to work gently pulling out pieces of glass—some as large as her hand—and closing the wounds. The wolf lay still while she worked, only whimpering and coughing every once in a while. More blood started to pool around its lips with each cough, urging Poppy to hurry.

By the time she was done, more footsteps were heading toward them and Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore appeared in the corridor.

"What is going on?" demanded McGonagall when she arrived. She looked in the bathroom and whipped her head around to stare at the silent students. " _What happened here?_ " she shrieked.

Dumbledore merely stepped into the bathroom to inspect the damage silently.

"Minerva," said Poppy pleadingly. "Please, if I want to save it, we have to get back to the Hospital Wing and these students are in shock. You can interrogate them later."

Minerva scowled, but it was within Poppy's rights to declare medical rank in such situations.

Poppy nodded to Severus and they both rose to their feet. She grasped Hermione's arm and pulled her up as well.

Severus flicked his wand to levitate the wolf and led the way to the Hospital Wing, trusting the other two Professors to herd the students behind him and pick up Neville.

Once there, Poppy quickly  instructed Severus to lay the wolf on one of the beds in the back while she pulled the privacy curtain around them and ran around gathering a few potions she would need. Minerva cornered Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Blaise in the recovery area and laid Neville on one of the beds.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Hermione, staring at the curtain that blocked her view of Ashi.

"I'm sure, dear," replied Minerva. "I've never seen something Poppy couldn't cure. Now, what can you tell me about what happened?"

Hermione looked around. Draco was staring sullenly at the wall, Blaise was staring just as forlornly at the sheets of the bed in front of him, and Ron was pouting. Neville had yet to wake.

Hermione sighed and began her, slightly-edited, version of the story.

Behind the curtain, Poppy searched her medicine cabinet for the coagulation potion and the blood-replenishing potion. She grabbed them and hurried back to Severus and the wolf. She shoved them into the arms of the Potions Master. "Here," she said. "See if it'll drink these. Only give him half of the coagulation potion, though."

Severus stared at her retreating back, then at the bottles in his hands, then down at the wolf. Its side rose and fell quickly as it panted in pain. It was gravely injured, but this thing had taken down a _troll_ single-handedly. He had no doubt it could rip out his throat before he could even take a step back. Still, it had saved Draco…supposedly.

He stepped toward its head and uncorked one of the potions. It opened with a loud pop but the wolf didn't budge. Cautiously, he poked its neck.

Nothing.

He set his hand on its head.

Still nothing.

He moved his hand down toward its mouth and grasped its jaw. It was slack and he easily propped it open to pour the potion down its throat bit by bit. Everything went smoothly until he had gotten a quarter of the potion down.

Then the wolf coughed harshly, opened its eyes wide, and snapped at Snape's hand.

Severus drew back his hand sharply with a half-strangled yell and he and the wolf held a silent staring contest for a few seconds before it dropped its gaze to the potions.

It gingerly reached its nose out to sniff the bottles.

Snape stared at it warily, but when it made no move to attack, he held the bottle out for its inspection. It stared at the bottle, then at him, waiting for something.

Severus looked around and found a bowl to pour the potions in.

The wolf lapped them up quickly, one after the other. When finished, it lay its head back down and closed its eye. It sighed and its breathing became easier.

Poppy popped out from behind a door, startling Severus a bit. "Did it get them down?" she asked.

"Quite willingly," replied Snape, dumbfounded.

"Good. I need you to recite the transparency spell. That should show me his insides while I fix them."

"…I beg your pardon?"

"He's got a collapsed lung for sure and I think two of the broken ribs are pressing against his stomach and liver and a third punctured the other lung. If he _shifts_ wrong, he'll tear the stomach lining and flood his chest cavity with acid. He'll die within a matter of minutes."

Snape froze, thinking about how they had carried it off the glass, then turned it over, and finally moved it up to the Hospital Wing. Any one of those times, they could have killed it, just by accident.

He paused again when he realized he was actually starting to care about an animal he had known for half an hour. Why should _he_ care what happened to it?

"Severus," Poppy interrupted. "I need you to cast the spell _now_."

He did so and watched through the wolf's translucent skin as Poppy used her magic to carefully shift the ribs back in place and fuse them, then fill the collapsed lung with air and mend the tear in the chest wall and heal the punctured lung. She moved down to his crushed leg and just as carefully sorted the pieces and put them all back.

The entire surgery was done without breaking the skin or sedating the wolf. It wriggled in discomfort and whined, but Poppy softly shushed it, explaining to Severus—or justifying to herself—that if they sedated the wolf while his heart rate was so low and his breathing labored, his heart might stop or oxygen flow would diminish.

It seemed to understand her, though, and stopped wriggling after that. Still, it had passed out by the time they were finished an hour later.

When she had finished wrapping more bandages around its torso to set its ribs, Poppy sighed and lowered her wand. Severus copied her. "I'm going to get him some blankets. We'll keep him in my office for tonight and let the children have the recovery area," she said. She rolled her shoulders then stalked off to her linens cabinet and pulled out several thick blankets.

"Follow me with him," she ordered and Snape once again levitated the wolf. She fluffed the blankets on the floor and gestured to them. Severus lowered the wolf.

They watched it for a few moments to see if it roused, then left the room together and closed the door, locking it tightly behind them.

"Thank you for your help, Severus," sighed Poppy.

He hummed and headed for the exit, which just so happened to be through the recovery area where he could check on Draco.

All of the children were in a seperate bed, asleep. Minerva sat in a chair by the wall, waiting for the pair to emerge and tell her about the wolf.

Poppy sighed again when she saw the professor's expectant stare. "Can we do this in the morning, Minerva? It's late and we should all get to bed. I'll watch the children tonight."

"Hmph. First thing in the morning," Minerva agreed and followed Severus out the door. As soon as it closed, she looked expectantly at him.

"It survived," he said. "How is a mystery."

* * *

 


	25. You're a What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait. The only excuse I have is that I forgot. It's been a very stressful month, especially last week. But enough about that; enjoy your update.

Ashi woke up to sunlight streaming through one the of the tall, wide windows. He didn’t open his eyes immediately. He was too tired for that. He wished the sun would hurry up and go away so he could go back to sleep.

He waited for what seemed like forever for the light to move, but it didn’t. Finally, he got fed up and opened his eyes. A solid-looking wooden desk, piled high with paperwork and a few assorted knick-knacks, and a matching chair blocked most of his view. There was a large wardrobe against the wall on the other side of the desk, but otherwise, the room looked barren.

He should have started panicking when he realized he didn’t recognize where he was, but he was too tired for that. And he ached.

He had been on cross-country runs before and been sore; he had been injured badly before, but none of that had felt like this. Every muscle, sinew, and bone in his body either hurt or was throbbing or he wasn’t sure he would be able to move at all.

Shadows crept slowly across the floor as he lay there contemplating his aching body. After a while, he gathered the strength to lift his head a bit and attempt to roll from his side to his stomach.

It hurt more than anything he had ever felt before. And he didn’t even make it all the way over the first time. Twice more he tried to coordinate his roll and his long legs enough to make it to his stomach without falling back over. He managed it on the third try and lay there panting for a few minutes, just trying to catch his breath.

That’s when the door creaked open. Slowly at first. So slowly that Ashi didn’t even notice until it was halfway open and a head had poked into the room.

Ashi’s ears perked up and he shifted his snout to have a better view. The desk was in his way, but he could see a mop of dark hair creeping into the room. Underneath the desk, on the floor, he could see a pair of shoes shuffling quietly toward him.

His lips lifted in a low growl. He was in no condition to defend himself very well, but hopefully the intruder wouldn’t know that.

The shoes crept forward another couple of inches, then boldly took a few steps across the room and disappeared around the edge of the desk. Nothing happened for a long moment.

Ashi held his breath, still snarling.

Blaise’s head popped around the side of the desk.

The snarl dropped from Ashi’s face and he stared blankly at Blaise.

“Blaise,” he heard Draco hiss from outside the room, “what’s going on? Is he there?”

Blaise cracked a smile and waved sheepishly at Ashi. “Yeah,” he whispered back over his shoulder. “He’s here. Come on in.”

Several more bodies bustled around the desk. Draco appeared first with Hermione close behind, dragging a reluctant Ron by the wrist. Neville shuffled along nervously, looking unsure as to whether he wanted to hide behind Hermione or make his own way forward. They all slowed when they reached the desk and practically inched around it. Ron flat out dug in his heels against Hermione, thoroughly intent on keeping the desk between him and the wolf, until Hermione let go with a glare. They all stared at him silently for a few seconds.

The sudden intense scrutiny made Ashi uncomfortable and his hackles slowly rose until they were standing stiffly on his back.

Blaise gave him a lopsided grin. “How ya feeling, mate?”

Ashi’s tail wagged a few times before he forced it still; the fur brushed against the blankets loudly in the silence. That simple question had eased some of his fears. If they were worried about his wellbeing, they weren’t too mad at him for being different.

_“Fine,”_ he replied. _“Everything hurts, though.”_ His voice was hoarse as if he had been yelling all the previous days and he was suddenly acutely aware of how thirsty he was.

Blaise snorted. “I should think so, man. You took on a bloody _troll_. I’d be surprised if everything didn’t hurt.”

Ashi twitched his ears. _“What about you?”_

“We’re all fine, thanks to you, Ashi,” breathed Hermione. “All we had were some cuts and bruises, but I think we would have been a lot worse off if you hadn’t been there.”

“Ha,” laughed Ron suddenly. “We would have been able to do something about it eventually without him butting in.”

“You weren’t even going to go _look_ for her if we hadn’t pointed out she was missing,” snarled Draco.

“I bet you wouldn’t either if we hadn’t dragged you along,” shot back Ron.

_“Enough!”_ barked Ashi. “ _Neither of those things happened so there’s no point in worrying about the past.”_

“Shut up!” shouted Ron. “You should have no say in any of this. You’re not even human anymore; you’re a werewolf.”

Ashi curled his lip in a silent growl.

“Who cares if he’s a werewolf,” Hermione said. “He saved our lives. Think about it, Ronald. You would probably be dead or badly injured if he hadn’t done anything.”

“He was probably just itching for a fight,” said Ron. “He’s an animal. They’re always getting in fights.”

“If he’s such an animal, why is he getting some of the best grades in our year?” snapped Blaise.

_“Would you all quit talking about me as if I weren’t here?!”_ Ashi roared.

They all turned to him. Ron met Ashi’s gaze challengingly, while Neville started chewing on his fingernails nervously, and Draco, Blaise, and Hermione looked guilty. Ashi flicked his ears, irritated.

_“If any of you would bother to hear what_ I _have to say,”_ he said _, “you would figure out that I am_ not _a werewolf._ ”

“Then why—” started Hermione.

Ashi growled loudly at her and she shut her mouth with a snap.

“ _I am a pure-blooded wolf,_ ” he continued.

“But what about the Potters?” asked Neville quietly.

Ashi scoffed. “ _What about them? We know nothing about them or how I came to be in their possession. But it has become rather clear to me that neither were wolves, so how can I be their child?”_

“How do you know that they’re not wolves?” asked Blaise.

_“Wolves have a tendency to avoid attention. We are safer that way. James and Lily Potter did nothing to keep attention from themselves. So, either they are a pair of very odd wolves or they are not wolves at all.”_

Ashi shifted his weight on the blankets and stretched what little he could with his limited movement. “ _Enough about that,_ ” he said. “ _We can talk about that later. There is something else I wish to discuss before a Professor comes to deal with me.”_ He tilted his head up to look at each of their faces with one of his huge golden eyes. “ _Are you willing to keep my secret?”_

“We can’t!” Ron insisted. “He’s dangerous. We have to tell someone.”

“He’s been living with us for the entire school year!” Draco objected. “If he were gonna do something, he would have by now.”

“How do you know he hasn’t?”

“Because we’re his friends.” Neville shrank back when he realized everyone was staring at him now.

“Neville’s right,” said Hermione. “We’ve been his friends before. Why does his being different have to change that?”

“Because he’s dangerous!” Ron took a step forward with the energy of his conviction. “He could attack us whenever he wants.”

“Weasley,” muttered Draco. “Shut up.”

“But—”

“What part of ‘he saved our lives’ don’t you get?!” shouted Blaise. “He could have let the troll do whatever it wanted to us and we wouldn’t have known about him.”

Ron was pouting so hard he almost puffed out his cheeks.

Ashi sighed through his nose. “ _Ron, how about this: if you think something’s wrong with me, if you think I’m going to do something that will hurt someone, you can tell the professors._ ”

Ron opened his mouth to oppose the idea, but Ashi kept going.

“ _In the meantime, you can form_ your own _opinion about wolves and werewolves.”_

Ron shut his mouth and wilted in place, remembering their conversation all those months ago when they had been running from Filtch. He crossed his arms and scowled. Everyone else held their breath, waiting for him to make a decision.

“Fine,” he spat finally. “I won’t tell anyone. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you, so don’t get any ideas.”

Ashi grinned at him with his full set of teeth teasingly. _“I’ll keep that in mind._ ”

“So then we’re all agreed?” asked Hermione. “We won’t tell anyone?”

“Obviously,” snorted Draco.

Blaise cheered his agreement. Neville nodded shyly.

Ashi’s tail slapped the ground happily. _“Good,”_ he said. “ _Now you better leave before someone comes._ ”

“But what are you gonna do, Ashi?” asked Neville.

_“Well I can’t very well walk out of here as a human, can I? The human me had no part in the troll incident last night and if the big bad wolf suddenly disappears, they’ll have a full-on witch hunt just to make sure the students are safe. I’ll make up a plan once I figure out what they plan to do with me.”_

“There can’t be too many things for them to do with him,” agreed Hermione. “I mean, where are they going to keep a wolf?”

“They might apparate him somewhere else, though,” mused Blaise. “Then what? How’s he gonna get back?”

_“I’ll just have to escape before they do,_ ” said Ashi. “ _Running in the Forest might satisfy them.”_

“Then why can’t you just turn into a human and let them assume you went to the Forest?” asked Ron.

“Because, Weasley,” said Draco as if were the most obvious thing in the world, “they might think he’s running around somewhere in the castle.”

Ashi nodded. A door outside creaked. “ _Quick!”_ he hissed. “ _Leave! Someone’s here.”_

They all stumbled over each other in their rush to get out the door. No sooner had it shut behind them than Ashi heard Hagrid’s muffled voice chastising them.

“What’r you all doin’ her’?” he asked.

“We were, um,” stammered Blaise.

“We wanted to see the wolf,” interrupted Hermione quickly. “You know, to make sure he was okay.”

“Well, he’s fine,” said Madame Pomphrey curtly.

“Um, what’s going to happen to him?” asked Neville.

“Hagrid’s going to take care of him,” answered Professor McGonagall.

“Take care of him?” echoed Ron. “You mean kill him?”

“What?!” scolded Pomphrey. “No! Why would I go through all that trouble to heal him if we were just going to put him down the next day? No, Hagrid’s going to take him far away from here and let him go.”

“Why? What if this is his home?” countered Blaise.

Ashi rolled his eyes and lay his head down on the blankets. Why couldn’t they just let the professors do what they wanted so he could hurry up and get back to his room and sleep for the rest of the day; for the rest of the weekend even. It was, after all, only Saturday.

“We’ve considered that,” explained McGonagall. “That’s why we’re just going to take him into the Forest. He’ll be fine.”

“But—”

“No buts. None of you have injuries that warrant being here, so out with you. Come on.”

Ashi flicked his ears lazily and waited. The sounds of shuffling footsteps and protesting voices as Professor McGonagall herded them out of the Hospital Wing drowned out the office door opening again.

From where he was lying near the back of the room, nearly everyone would be immediately blocked from his view of anyone who entered, except for the top of their head. Hagrid, on the other hand, was tall enough to be seen immediately.

Ashi watched as Hagrid inched into the room. Their eyes met several times as Hagrid made his way around the desk, but he didn’t say anything until Ashi had full view of his body. Ashi just flicked his ears again.

Now he needed to make another quick decision. How should he react to them: the shy-but-friendly puppy or the aggressive, put-me-back-in-the-forest-and-leave-me-alone wild wolf. He settled for somewhere in the middle. It wouldn’t do for them to become attached to him nor for them to knock him out so they could move him.

He flattened his ears against his skull and curled his lip, beginning a growl deep in the back of his throat.

The groundskeeper knelt down and grinned a full set of teeth at Ashi. “Hello ther’” he said.

Madame Pomphrey peeked around the desk cautiously. “Are you sure it’s alright, Hagrid?” she asked.

“’course ‘e’s alright,” assured Hagrid confidently. “’e’s just scared. Ah’ll jus’ let ‘im sniff me hand ‘ere.” He offered Ashi one of his hands, whispering reassuring nothings to him all the while.

Intent on playing his role perfectly, Ashi lifted his lip higher, growl growing louder, for a moment before the lip dropped and the growl turned into a slight whine. He turned his head away from Hagrid’s hand then looked back.

His nose dropped shyly before reaching forward to meet Hagrid halfway. He smelled layer upon layer of forest and dirt and outdoors mixed with several different kinds of animals. His boarhound, Fang, was the most prevalent, followed closely by squirrels, polecats, and other vermin.

They were smells that would have comforted other animals, reassured them that this man knew the outdoors and knew several others of their kind that trusted him. Ashi knew all of that anyway, but a small feeling of relief still washed through him. It was comforting to be reassured that he was placing his safety in the hands of a man that would not take advantage of that trust.

“See,” said Hagrid as he extended his hand some more, “’e’s alright.” He lifted his hand a bit in an attempt to touch Ashi’s head.

Ashi stopped that by ducking down and away, growling and showing his teeth.  

Madam Pomphrey hissed out a warning, but Hagrid just chuckled nervously. “’e jus’ enjoys his person’l space.”

“Yes,” agreed Poppy sarcastically. “I can see that. But, Hagrid, how are you going to move him. I can’t very well keep him here for the rest of the year.”

“Well, tha’s why ah got this here bit o’ rope,” answered Hagrid, reaching into his gargantuan robes and pulling out a length of thick rope about two-yards long. “Ah brought along Fang ter help, too.” He let out a short, high whistle.

Ashi’s head jerked up and his ears swiveled to catch the sound of the door banging against the opposite wall and Fang skittering on the stone floor around the desk to shove his head into Hagrid’s stomach for a scratch.

_“Hagrid! Hagrid!”_ Fang whined. “ _Students! Students outside!”_

Hagrid guffawed and mumbled something to the dog, but he was ignored. As soon as Hagrid’s hand had fallen on his head, Fang turned his attention to the rest of the room. Immediately, he spotted Ashi.

“ _Wolf! Wolf!”_ he barked.

_“Idiot!”_ growled Ashi. “ _I met you months ago. I go to school here.”_

Fang immediately switched his demeaner in favor of tugging eagerly against Hagrid’s restraining hand to sniff at Ashi and his healing wounds. “ _Student? Student?”_ he asked.

“ _Yes. Student.”_

“ _Wolf-student hurt,”_ Fang growled, hackles standing up and tail stiff. _“I hurt Student-hurter.”_

Ashi moaned. Honestly, some civilized dogs could be so dense and dumb. But he decided not to hold it against Fang. After all, if he had been raised out here by Hagrid, with no other dogs—it was highly unlikely any other species would have enough time—to teach the brute proper grammar of all things.

“ _Student hurter dead,_ ” reassured Ashi with a sigh.

Fang perked up. His tail thumped harshly against Hagrid’s side and his tongue dripped saliva onto the floor. “ _Student-hurter killed? Student brave, very brave.”_  He strained to move forward a bit to explore Ashi a little more, but Hagrid held him back, laughing something about Fang being eager to meet a new friend.

Ashi leaned away from the huge dog and growled warningly. “ _Stay away. Student hurt,_ ” he said. “ _Want to go rest in forest._ ”

_“Forest!”_ barked Fang. “ _Go to forest. Very nice there.”_

Ashi had no doubt Fang would have continued singing the Forbidden Forest’s praises had Hagrid not stood and declared it time to get to work. While Ashi and Fang had been conversing, Hagrid had tied a large loop into one end of the rope. He ordered Fang to stay, which the dog did with tongue lolling and tail wagging, while he inched closer to Ashi, holding out the loop.

Ashi kept up his façade, growling and curling his lips but also leaning away, making no sign of attack.

Hagrid paused, ordered Fang to stay, and let go of the dog to reach into his coat pocket. He pulled out a long, thick piece of jerky and held it out to Ashi.

He sniffed it, then took it gingerly and chewed it slowly.

Encouraged by this, Hagrid reached forward again with the rope.

Ashi dodged it. Friend Hagrid might be but there was no way Ashi was ever going to restrict himself by letting the groundskeeper put a rope on him.

They continued this pattern for several minutes: Hagrid offering another piece of jerky before trying to sling the rope around Ashi’s neck. Ashi accepted the jerky each time, but still didn’t let the rope come near.

Finally, Poppy grew impatient. “Hagrid, this isn’t working. Why can’t we just stun him and levitate him back to the forest?”

Ashi growled at her and she took a step back.

Hagrid chuckled. “I think ‘e understood yeh ther’, Poppy. Bu’ how would yer like it ‘f someone knocked yeh out and stuck yeh who-knows-whar? Le’s give ‘im a chance.”

Ashi was getting fed up with this. It was going nowhere, and with Hagrid’s patience, they could be doing this all day. He shifted his weight a bit, gathered his resolve, and slowly stood up. His muscles and bones stretched and he groaned. Every inch of his body was sore and even the slightest movement was agony; his chest and back leg were the worst though. It hurt to breathe and putting any amount of weight on his foot sent sparks of fire shooting up his entire leg. He quickly lifted it.

Once the soreness had abated somewhat, he looked up at his company. Both Hagrid and Poppy had moved back several feet. Hagrid was in a half-crouch, holding out his hands placatingly and speaking softly—Ashi ignored him. Poppy was inching towards the Hagrid to hide behind him. Fang, on the other hand, was looking at him excitedly, tongue lolling and tail wagging wildly.

“ _Student okay,_ ” he crowed. He bounded forward to sniff at Ashi, inspecting him for hidden wounds. Ashi growled a warning when Fang got too close, but that did almost nothing to deter the dog. “ _Student go to forest now?”_ he asked.

Ashi dipped his head tiredly. “ _Forest sounds nice,_ ” he groaned. He took a slow step forward, stretching the muscles in each leg to their max. He could only manage half a foot with each step. He could hear Poppy and Hagrid scrambling to figure out what to do but Ashi only gave them half of his attention; the other half was focused on not falling over.

Fang whined in sympathy and circled Ashi a few times while he concentrated on each even step forward, then chose a side and leaned his body against the wolf’s, offering him support. Ashi leaned against him thankfully. Now it was a little easier on his muscles to make progress, but breathing still hurt.

In front of them, the professors finally came to an agreement. Hagrid swung open the door and stepped into the Hospital Wing, gesturing for the canines to follow him. Poppy inched around the desk until she was behind them, herding them forward.

Ashi limped forward one step at a time, keeping his injured foot completely off the ground. It was slow going—the Hospital Wing never seemed to end—and they took several rests, but Hagrid and Poppy made sure they took the shortest route to the school grounds while avoiding curious eyes.

It was mid-morning by the time Ashi finally stepped onto the grass. A small breeze ruffled his fur and soothed his muscles. He lifted his head and took a deep breath of air that didn’t reek of either troll or humans, just dirt and plants.

The open space lifted his spirits and he quickened his pace. There was nothing he wanted more than to reach the forest, go to his pack’s cave and sleep the rest of the day away. But by the time they reached the lake, he was exhausted again.

Fang grumbled when he realized how quickly Ashi had spent his energy and nudged him to the lake for a drink and a rest. The water was icy cold and refreshing as it slid down his throat. When he was finished, Ashi lifted his head and let out a long, low howl, calling for the reassurance of his pack.

One by one, four answering howls reached his ears. They were several miles away, but they would come, if only to hear the story of the troll’s defeat sooner.

Ashi and his troop started moving toward the forest again. This time, he and Fang led the way while Hagrid and Poppy stayed behind several feet, talking in low voices.

They were almost there, now. Ashi could see the bushes and trees moving as his pack paced at the edge of the forest. But they would not show themselves; better to have the advantage of unknown numbers if there came a need for a fight.

Fang stopped several yards from the first tree, growling. “ _Danger,_ ” he cautioned, growling ferociously. “ _Wolves. Danger. Fight._ ”

_“My pack,_ ” Ashi replied, too tired to elaborate further. He continued limping forward alone while Fang hung back.

Toboe materialized from the greenery and approached cautiously, sniffing and inspecting Ashi. He stared at the humans for a few seconds—they stared right back, faces slack in shock and awe—before turning to Fang.

“ _Thanks,”_ whispered Toboe.

Fang opened his mouth to pant happily. “ _Student come back soon?”_

Toboe bared his teeth, ready to answer in the negative, but Ashi spoke first.

“ _Yeah. I’ll be back._ ”

Toboe grumbled and flicked his ears and tail in annoyance, but he wasn’t about to start an argument out in the open in front of outsiders. Instead, he just turned around and helped Ashi slink into the dark protection of the forest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't turn out how I wanted. I'm hoping the reboot I'm planning to do in the next few months (after I finish this arc) will help with that.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics=Wolf-speak

Chapter 26: Q&A

 

Ashi opened his eyes slowly. Sunlight filtered down through the leaves. Around him, the forest was silent save for the breeze rustling branches. There was a slight chill in the air left over from winter. He shivered and scooted closer to Tsume.

Hige set his head down next to Ashi’s and pushed his nose into Ashi’s neck. _“Hey, Ashi,”_ he said softly. _“How are you feeling?”_

Ashi chuffed out a sigh. _“Hurts. Still.”_ He reached forward to stretch his front legs a bit and gave voice to his muscles’ complaints. “ _Have to get used to it though. Got school tomorrow.”_

_“Don’t go back, Ashi,”_ pleaded Hige, flattening his ears against his skull and raising his lips in a silent snarl. _“It’s dangerous there.”_

_“It is not_ ,” Ashi protested. “ _It’s no more dangerous than any other place we’ve been. Hardly anything has happened all year.”_

_“What about those bullies?”_ retorted Tsume. “ _And that three-headed dog, Fluffy?”_

_“There are bullies everywhere. I’m not special; nearly everyone is getting bullied in one way or another. And Fluffy is just a big dog. You’ve seen magical creatures before. What makes him so special.”_

_“No one knows he’s in the castle, for one,”_ muttered Tsume.

_“And that weirdo creature that’s killing unicorns_?” growled Hige.

_“So what? We would have tried to kill it even if it weren’t at Hogwarts,”_ snapped Ashi.

_“And the Sorcerer’s Stone?”_ put in Kiba. “ _We still haven’t found that. We don’t even know if it exists_.”

Ashi lifted his head and growled at his pack. “ _Look, I don’t care if you guys don’t like it here. I do, and I don’t want to leave. If you really think it’s that dangerous here then that’s all the more reason I should stay. I have friends here and I want to protect them.”_

“ _Even if those friends end up betraying you now that they know you’re not human?”_ asked Kiba.

Ashi flattened his ears and the snarl slipped of his muzzle. “ _They wouldn’t do that,_ ” he muttered. “ _They’re my friends.”_

_“That’s what I thought, too_ ,” whispered Toboe, half mournfully, half warningly.

_“But they’re different from Leara,”_ assured Ashi. “ _We’re in a different world now, and they’ve known me for a lot longer than she did.”_

They were all silent for a long moment. Then Ashi sighed.

_“This is the only thing I’ve ever asked for, guys,”_ he whispered. _“At least let me finish the year._ ”

“… _Fine,”_ said Kiba. “ _Stay if you want.”_

“ _Kiba!”_ protested Tsume. “ _Are you out of your mind?! You’re gonna let him stay? For all we know, he could get killed in there.”_

_“And he could get killed out here,”_ barked Kiba. “ _If we were back in our own world, you wouldn’t have cared one way or the other, and you know it. He would have been in just as much danger either way. And you were the one who was running with humans back then._ ”

“ _He’s got a point, Tsume,”_ drawled Hige, grinning.

“ _Shut up,”_ growled the grey wolf. “ _Those humans didn’t even suspect I was a wolf. I never told any of them._ ”

_“What about that one kid?”_ goaded Kiba. “ _The one that saved you when we first met?”_

Tsume stood up and shot Kiba an open-mouth roar. “ _Drop it! Just drop it! He can stay, alright? Happy now?”_ He didn’t wait for an answer and stalked off into the trees.

None of them moved for a few minutes, then Toboe stood up and lazily shook himself. “ _I guess I should go after him, huh?”_ No one gave him an answer, but he wasn’t expecting one. He turned his head around to grin at Ashi. “ _For the record, Ashi, I think it’s a good idea for you to stay. You’ll learn a whole lot more in there than if you were just stuck out here.”_ He bounded into the woods after Tsume.

Ashi looked at Hige. “ _And what about you?”_

Hige shifted his head on his paws and closed his eyes. “ _I dunno. Sure, you’ll learn a lot if you stay, but I get the feeling we’re not through being worried about you. Something just smells weird about that castle._ ”

Tsume stalked back to the cave later that night, Toboe in tow, but refused to speak to anyone. Instead, he spent the night several feet away, sulking.

* * *

Ashi felt even worse when he woke up Monday morning. He was so tired he could barely move, which turned out to be a good thing for every time he did try to move, pain would ripple like fire through his innards. Silently, he decided maybe he could afford to skip a few days of classes.

The rest of his pack said nothing, just snuggled closer and gently nudged their noses along his body to check for damage. They lay there for most of the day. Ashi hadn’t even made it to their cave so they didn’t dare leave him alone for long. So they spent the whole day resting with their youngest.

Nothing much happened until early evening.

They were close enough to the edge of the forest that they could hear the students chattering to each other as they walked to and from herbology or the quidditch pitch between classes. So when they heard voices near the forest after classes had ended, they didn’t think much of it. At least until rustling leaves and cracking twigs began accompanying them.

Ears flicked and a few heads rose, looking in the direction of the disturbance. They all were as silent as possible, shallowing their breathing and generally becoming one big statue.

The voices quieted, although the sounds of foliage continued.

Then one of the voices shouted, loud enough for the pack to be able to understand.

“Anything?” it said.

A chorus of at least four other people shouted a negative.

Hige, Tsume, and Kiba rose, ready to protect themselves from an unknown threat.

Ashi flopped his head from one side to the next where it was lying on Toboe’s back. _“It’s alright,”_ he sighed. “ _That’s Blaise_.”

_“I thought you only had two friends,”_ said Hige.

_“Gee, thanks,”_ said Ashi dryly.

_“W’ll—”_

_“It’s probably Ron, and Hermione, and Neville, too.”_

_“What do they want?”_ growled Tsume.

_“I dunno. I missed class. They’re probably wondering where I am.”_

_“Why do they care?”_

_“Shut up, Tsume,”_ snapped Toboe. _“Some people actually care about each other, you know.”_

_“Enough, guys,_ ” Hige moaned. “ _We don’t have time for this_.”

“ _What are we going to do about them?”_ asked Kiba. “ _Ashi?_ ”

Ashi closed his eyes and sighed again. _“I don’t really want to deal with them,_ ” he mumbled. _“But they’re not gonna let this go…”_ He opened his eyes to stare pleadingly at his pack. _“Would you go get them? Please?”_

Kiba nodded and trotted off in the direction of the furthest voice. Tsume grumbled some more but Hige knocked his shoulder to get them both moving.

Once all three were gone, Toboe whispered, _“Are you sure you’re up for this, Ashi? We can send them away.”_

Ashi breathed deeply, losing himself in the smell of the dirt and trees. He immediately regretted it when his lungs locked up. He pulled his lips back, baring his teeth and trying to open his esophagus. He hacked wetly a few times, unable to breathe for a few seconds in between coughs. When he finally caught his breath, he was left panting. He dropped his head on Toboe’s back.

Toboe whined. “ _You’re not ready, Ashi. Just send them away. They can talk to you when you go back to school.”_

_“Too late,_ ” Ashi wheezed. _“Here they come.”_

Hermione stumbled into the clearing, Neville clutching at her robes, his face white as a sheet. Ron walked backward behind them. He was brandishing his wand shakily at Tsume and Kiba even though the wolves were doing nothing but calmly guiding them to the clearing.

“Ashi!” cried Hermione when she saw him. She tried to rush to his side to hug him, but the combination of Neville holding her back and three wolves growling at her stifled that desire.

“The bloody hell is this, Ashi?” asked Ron angrily. His wand followed the grey and white wolves as they circled around his little group to sit near the edge of the clearing in a direction where the Gryffindors didn’t have to stand back-to-back.

“ _My pack,”_ replied Ashi quietly.

Ron stared at him.

“You can talk!” Hermione exclaimed happily. “That’s amazing. I didn’t know any magical creatures could talk.

“ _All creatures can talk,”_ huffed Toboe. _“Humans just don’t listen in the right language.”_

“So are you a werewolf or something?” continued Hermione. “But I thought werewolves couldn’t transform at will; they only did it on a full moon and—”

“ _I am not a werewolf…and I’m not going to say more than that until you’re all here_.” Ashi coughed again. “ _I do not want to have to explain this twice.”_

“You could probably explain it a hundred times and I still wouldn’t like it,” grumbled Ron.

“Ronald!” scolded Hermione.

“What?! He’s a werewolf. He shouldn’t even be at Hogwarts. What if he turns and kills people? They can’t control themselves when they turn, you know. We’re in danger right now!”

_“We’re not werewolves,”_ barked Tsume.

“Yeah, Weasley, weren’t you listening when he told us Saturday,” sneered Draco as he and Blaise stepped under a branch into the clearing, led by a happily-panting Hige.

The Slytherins left a large gap between them and the other students, but Hige trotted past them to sit near Toboe and Ashi.  

“Well I can trust his word about as much as I trust yours… _Malfoy_ ,” seethed Ron.  

_“I don’t care if you trust it or not,_ ” growled Kiba. “ _We know exactly what we are.”_

_“I don’t know why we’re even telling you this,_ ” Tsume grumbled. “ _It’s not like you’ll care one way or the other.”_

Ron straightened. “I, for one, would like to know if I’m attending classes with an _animal_ that could tear my throat out on certain days.”

“ _Today might be one of those days,_ ” Tsume snarled, baring his teeth.

Ron took a step backward. “See what I mean?! I’m out of here.”

“Wait, Ron,” called Hermione. She grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back to stand next to her.

Ashi let out a long breath. “ _Let’s just make this quick. I’ve told you I’m a wolf and you’ve said you’ll keep my secret. Why else are you here?”_

Hermione’s mouth dropped open a few inches. “Are you serious, Ashi? You got beat up saving us from a troll and you’re wondering why we’re here?”

“So am I,” grumbled Ron.

“Shut it, Weasley,” snapped Blaise.

“We…we want to know if, if you’re alright, Ashi,” mumbled Neville.

_“I’m fine_. _Just sore. And tired.”_

“Is there anything we can do for you?” asked Hermione.

“ _Leave,”_ Tsume grumbled under his breath. Kiba’s tail flicked him. Tsume growled and scooted farther away.

Ashi ignored them and closed his eyes tiredly. “ _Just give the professors a reason why I’m not in classes. It might be a day or two before I’m back.”_

“But Ashi,” said Blaise, “Professor Snape will come looking for you if you don’t show up after a while.”

_“I know…I’ll be back before then._ ”

“And Madame Pomphrey will want to take a look at you if it’s bad enough you miss classes for days.”

_“I know!”_ Ashi snapped his teeth together with the force of his outburst.

Neville let out a little whimper and stumbled backward a few paces. Hermione followed him with a single step while Ron whipped out his wand again and pointed it at them.

Ashi’s gaze darted over to the Slytherins—they had put just enough space between themselves and the Gryffindors that Ashi couldn’t see both groups at the same time. Both of them had their wands in their hands but otherwise hadn’t moved.

Blaise hastily shoved his wand back in his robes. “You’re kinda makin’ us nervous there, Ashi,” he laughed nervously.

“ _Sorry,”_ muttered Ashi.

“ _Why do you have to do this now?”_ demanded Toboe. “ _Why can’t you wait till he’s better before barraging him with questions?”_

“Well, the process of finding out whether he is okay kinda has to be done while he’s still _injured_ ,” snapped Draco. Everyone could hear the ‘duh’ in his voice.

Ron and Neville shifted their weight, unsure how the wolves would take the obvious disrespect. Hermione chewed her bottom lip while Blaise just smiled crookedly.

To their surprise, Hige and Tsume started laughing outright and Kiba lifted their lips in a wolf’s grin.

“ _He got you there, Toboe,”_ guffawed Hige.

Toboe scowled.

Hige stopped laughing and explained, “He means questions like ‘How can you turn into a human?’ and ‘Why didn’t you tell us sooner?’”

“I couldn’t care less about that first question,” replied Draco, crossing his arms, wand still gripped firmly in his fist, “but I would like to know the answer to the second.”

“ _Think about it, genius,_ ” Kiba scoffed. “ _If you weren’t human, would you go blathering to everyone you meet that you weren’t of the same species_.”

“Yeah, but we’re your friends,” protested Blaise.

“I’m not,” muttered Ron. Hermione stepped on his foot. He let out a sharp yelp and hopped around for a few seconds. Everyone else ignored him.

“ _You’ve known him for all of a few months, pal,”_ said Hige. “ _Sorry, but that just doesn’t seem like enough time to figure out if you’re the type of person to go screaming to your government that you’ve discovered a new species or not.”_

“You’re a new species?” gasped Hermione.

“ _Irrelevant,_ ” snapped Tsume. “ _You’ve had your question answered, so leave already_!”

Blaise raised his hand high over his head. “I have one more question: who’re you guys?”

“ _You’ve met us before,_ ” Toboe said. “ _You wrestled with Tsume_.”

“…Which one’s Tsume?”

In the blink of an eye, Kiba, Tsume, and Hige were humans. Hige waved, Tsume sulked with his hands the tiny pockets of his pants, and Kiba just looked at them all.

“Bloody hell!” shrieked Ron. His wand came up to point at them. “Give us some warning before ya do that!”

Draco had taken a step back in surprise. Blaise and Hermione were staring at the three wolves in wonder while Neville gripped Hermione’s robes a little tighter but allowed a small smile to crawl over his face.

“Wicked,” breathed Blaise.

“How do you do that?” asked Hermione. “Is it a spell? Illusion? Or maybe Homorphus? Do you all have wands? Are there others that can do this? Do you—"

“Enough already,” interrupted Tsume, rubbing the back of his head in irritation. “We don’t even know what half of those words mean.”

Hermione dipped her head sheepishly, just now noticing the windblown expressions on the other wolves.

Kiba sighed. “Ashi can probably answer any questions you have better than us, right Ashi?”

Silence.

“Ashi?”

They all looked at the black wolf. He didn’t move.

Toboe inched his nose closer to Ashi. After a few seconds, he started laughing softly. “He fell asleep,” he explained.

A snore emphasized his statement.

“Perfect,” exclaimed Tsume. “Now you can all leave.”

“You can talk to him when he gets back to the castle,” Kiba said.

The students grumbled their disappointment but started shuffling their way out of the clearing, still keeping a sizeable gap between Slytherins and Gryffindors.

“And guys,” smiled Hige just before they were out of sight. “Remember not to tell anyone about his little secret. It won’t be that hard to figure out who spilled the beans.”

* * *

Ashi waited to go back to the castle till early Wednesday morning. Even by then, he was still exhausted 90% of the day and took frequent naps. But if he waited any longer, teachers would start to look for him.

He was up long before the sun to give himself time to make it to the castle without straining himself. Although he felt much better than he had that first morning, moving was still verging on agony and he had a bad limp on his left hind leg, the one that had had to be reinflated after the troll attack.

Breathing was slightly easier, but he had mini panic attacks if he breathed too deeply. His ribs would constrict and a coughing fit would overtake him for several seconds, leaving him hyperventilating so quickly he nearly passed out.

So he made sure not to overexert himself as he slinked across the frosty grass to Hogwarts. Once he got to the dungeons, he shifted—only just managing to stifle a small groan as more muscles were stretched—and spoke the password. He slipped inside the common room and up the stairs to his dorm. The door squeaked softly when he opened it.

Blaise was sprawled out face-up on his bed still fully robed, snoring with his mouth open. Draco had his curtains drawn, but Ashi could guess that he was safely under the covers with the pillow over his head to drown out Blaise. So, all-in-all pretty normal considering they just found out their roommate of six months was a magical creature.

Ashi sighed softly, thankful that he would be able to recover from his stint across the grounds before discussing anything with them. He drew back his own covers and lay down beneath them, snuggling into the warmth after the frigid winter air. He closed his eyes; just for a few minutes, he told himself.

* * *

He woke up when ice-cold water splashed against his face. He leaped to his feet, floundering in the blankets for a millisecond before he stood solidly on the bed, snarling at his attacker with a full set of teeth.

Blaise grinned sheepishly from where he was standing by Draco’s dresser, wand dropping to his side as if he had just finished a spell. “Mornin’, Ashi,” he said with a little wave.

The snarl dropped off Ashi’s face as he just stared at Blaise.

“I told you it wasn’t a good idea,” muttered Draco from the other side of the room where he was putting something in his trunk.

Ashi shifted into his human form and slipped off the bed in one motion. “You did that?” he asked incredulously, taking a step toward Blaise.

Blaise nodded, then slapped his hands together and bowed his head in a pleading gesture. “But only because I didn’t know how else to wake you up from far away,” he said in one breath.

“Nuh-uh,” argued Draco. The trunk lid slammed shut loudly. “You said you just wanted to do it for fun.”

Ashi leveled a stern gaze at Blaise for a few seconds, enjoying the other boy’s slight cowering, before the smile he had been holding back broke free. First it was a smile, then he giggled a bit. He nearly doubled-over laughing at the thought of the reactions of the rest of the pack would be if Ashi woke _them_ up by dumping water on them.

Blaise went slack-jawed when he saw the smile, then joined in with a nervous laugh of his own. The memory of the panic and surprise on Ashi’s face when he woke up was enough to have Blaise belting out a full-belly laugh as well.

Draco just stared at them from his trunk and quirked an eyebrow at them. The pair kept laughing for at least a minute before he finally got fed up and shouted, “We’re gonna be late if you two keep this up.”

That snapped Ashi out of it immediately. “What time is it?” he bellowed as he tripped over his own feet to reach his dresser and fling it open to grab a pair of robes.

“Just after eight,” replied Draco as he picked up his bag.

Blaise breathed deeply as he tried to get himself under control. “Yeah, Ashi,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

“But we have charms class first,” said Ashi through a mouthful of fabric. His head popped through the neck hole and he finished, “and that one staircase moves at 8:10.”

Blaise shrieked and dove for his bed, crawling around on the ground to find all his books and shove them in his bag.

Draco just stood by the door and tapped his foot impatiently. “Which is why,” he said, “we need to leave _now_ unless we want to take the long way around.”

Less than ten seconds later, all three were shoving each other down the stairs, Blaise trying to shove the rest of his books in his bag and Ashi trying to figure out how to knot his tie on the run.

* * *

Ashi sighed when he finally sat down in the Great Hall for dinner. He dropped his arms on the table and buried his face in them, closing his eyes. He had never felt so tired after a normal day. His thighs were sore and his arms trembled with the strain. He was ready to just fall asleep right there, in front of everyone.

He took a deep breath and winced at the sudden pain in his chest. He had to swallow a few times to stave off a panic attack. He had already had three so far: once on the hall during their rush to their first class, which scared Blaise half to death and Draco just numbly stood there, once after their DADA class, and once on their way back from a midafternoon herbology class. Thankfully, Blaise and Draco were the only witnesses to any of them. He had managed to make it to an empty bathroom before the second attack had gotten too bad, and he had slipped down a deserted hallway during the third one.

He rubbed at his sternum. It did nothing to actually help the pain, but it felt better than just sitting there and waiting it out. He shifted on his seat, listening to the din of students eating around him.

Fire shot up his left leg and he let out a silent groan. Today was just not his day. The leg was much better than it could have been thanks to Madame Pomphrey—she was the only reason he wasn’t crippled for life—but he still couldn’t walk on it properly. A few students had called him out on his limp, but he just scowled at them and walked away, doing his best to do so normally.

Typically, he would have been skipping dinner and pulling books off the shelves in the library by now. But here he was, waiting for Draco and Blaise to finish their food so they could all go together. This was partly because he didn’t want to have to explain everything multiple times to each individual person that had seen him in wolf form, and partly because he didn’t want to face Hermione Granger and her barrage of questions alone.

Besides, Blaise had promised to explain what homework had been assigned while Ashi was recovering in the woods.

“Ashi,” whispered Blaise next to Ashi’s ear. “Are you okay?”

“’m fine,” mumbled Ashi. “Just hurry up so we can go. I wanna go to bed.”

“Without doing your homework?” gasped Blaise in mock dismay. “I’m shocked.”

“Screw you. I’ll do it later.”

Blaise lifted the corners of his lips in a smirk and looked at Draco. Draco just scowled and pushed a piece of lettuce around on his plate. The smirk dropped from Blaise’s face and he concentrated on eating.

The tension between the three had been rather high ever since Ashi had come back. Ashi was exhausted, so that was a no-brainer, but Draco had almost outright refused to say anything all day despite Blaise cracking jokes every two seconds in an attempt to get everything back to normal. Draco’s odd behavior undoubtedly had something to do with one of his friends not being human, but Ashi didn’t feel like addressing it quite yet. He’d rather have the support of the Gryffindors in case Draco felt like abandoning Ashi; he didn’t quite have access to his full mental ability to argue with him about why doing so would be a cheap move.

Ashi lost himself in the cacophony of multiple conversations and clink of silverware on plates, using it to take his attention off his aching body. He had nearly fallen asleep when a hand gripped his shoulder and Blaise said cheerfully, “Come on, Ashi. Let’s go meet our new friends.”

Ashi lifted his head and looked at him, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “Sure,” he muttered and got up to follow them.

The walk to the library was an eternity of silence that lasted a few minutes. The weight of Draco’s stare on the back of Ashi’s neck was nearly as heavy as his book bag. It was a relief when they finally walked through the library doorway. They searched the rows of shelves one by one until they found their targets.

Ashi spotted Hermione scurrying back to her table with an armful of books and followed. He stopped short when he saw whom she was with.

“What are you doing here?” sneered Draco.

Ron looked up from his book and squinted at them. “It’s a public library,” he replied, just as nastily.

Next to him, Neville shrank down in his chair and raised his book to hide his face.

“I, um, offered to tutor him,” Hermione answered, setting down her books. “You know, as thanks for coming to save me.”

“Lot of help _he_ was,” grumbled Blaise.

“At least I tried!” shouted Ron, pushing his chair back as he stood. “You guys just stood there and stared!”

“Shh,” hissed Hermione.

Ron growled and sat back down, hunching his shoulders in a sulk.

“Whatever,” said Ashi, trying to dispel another argument. He sat down at the table next to the Gryffindors’ and gestured for his friends to do the same. “I thought maybe since Hermione and I like to spend our evenings in the library, we’d use that to have a common time and place for you to ask whatever questions you have.”

“Okay,” said Blaise. “I have one: Why are you so willing to answer our questions?”

Ashi shrugged. “I dunno. I suppose it just makes sense since you’re keeping my secret.”

“But you’re giving us all kinds of information we could use if one of us ever decides to sell you out,” spoke up Neville. He had slowly stopped hiding when Ashi started speaking, obviously more comfortable with Ashi’s human form than when he was a wolf.

“If you sell me out, it won’t take them long to figure out all this stuff anyway. Besides, the only one I have doubts about is Ron.”

Ron’s mouth flapped incredulously. “Ah, but…I…” he stammered.

“Oh, stuff it, Weasley,” said Draco. “He’s got a point. Blaise and I are his roommates, and Hermione and Neville have been his study-buddies all year. You, on the other hand, made friends, then ditched him as soon as he was sorted into Slytherin.”

Ron crossed his arms and frowned harshly but didn’t say anything.

“Okay, my turn,” said Hermione after a few seconds. “Can you always choose between your…bodies?”

“No, we have to consciously think about which form we want. We’re genetically wolves, so we always revert to wolf-form when we’re asleep or unconscious.”

“Is that why you always sleep with your curtains closed?” asked Blaise.

“Partly. And partly because it helps keep out your snores.”

Draco snorted.

Blaise scowled. “Very funny.”

“Is this why you know the Potters are your adoptive parents and not your real ones?” asked Neville.

Ashi nodded. “I’ve asked around about them. They don’t sound like wolves to me.”

“Hey, what other things can you do?” blurted Blaise.

“Well, I can fly and shoot laser beams out of my eyes and my sonic bark can splinter a grove of hundred-year oaks.”

“Wicked,” Blaise breathed.

Draco rolled his eyes. “You can’t really do any of that stuff.”

“Yeah. How come I haven’t heard anything about something that can do that?” added Ron.

“Before last week, you didn’t know there were wolves that could look like humans,” Hermione rebuked.

“But no, I can’t do any of that stuff,” smiled Ashi. “That’d be pretty cool, though.”

“So, you can’t do anything other than look human?” asked Ron.

Ashi shook his head. “Not really. We heal pretty fast when there’s a full moon, though. Plus, I think I’m one of the only wolves that can actually practice magic.”

“Well, whoop-de-do,” muttered Ron.

“So if it was a full moon,” said Hermione, “how fast could you heal from something like what happened Friday night?”

“With or without Madame Pomphrey?”

“Both.”

“I dunno. I’d probably be all better by Monday with magic and the full moon and I’d probably take the entire week without magic, but I’d probably never have been able to use my leg again if Madame Pomphrey hadn’t put it back together.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” gasped Neville.

“Which reminds me,” said Ashi, “I still hurt and I’m tired as hell. Let’s cut this one off and finish our homework, yeah?”

They all scowled or groaned, except Hermione. She had a contemplative look on her face that quite plainly scared Ashi. She didn’t say anything, though, just pulled over a book and started scratching away at her parchment.

The rest followed suit, occasionally muttering insults or asking and answering questions.


End file.
